Letter to the Editor: Why fear campaigns work

DEAR News Of The Area,

I FIND it hard to find sensible discussion about migration coming from the opposition.

Instead they seek to politicise the issue and turn it into a fear campaign.

Fear campaigns work because they do not require facts, merely a grievance, and appeal to our natural desire for simple solutions to complex issues.

I remember the maiden speech to parliament by Pauline Hanson in 1996 when she stated that we were going to be “swamped by Asians”.

Twenty years later, on her return to parliament in 2016, her maiden speech referred to Australia being “swamped by Muslims”.

Her naked racism may have changed hues but she really is a one trick pony.

If the National (Mining) Party is the tail that wags the Liberal Party dog then my metaphor starts to break down in an attempt to explain the way the One Notion Party seems to direct the COALition policy on migration.

Angus Taylor bemoans that migration “standards have been too low, numbers have been too high” but he fails to detail how he would address the issue.

But he does try to insist that he is “not seeking to be One Nation-lite”, whatever that means.

Thou doth protest too much, methinks.

What area of migration would be suitable to cut if one did not want to sabotage the economy, causing economic pain to all of those of us who have already migrated here?

How about students?

Foreign students are one of the largest sources of income for the country and fund the university sector which provides the skills and knowledge required to build the economy in a rapidly changing world.

Cutting back the education system would not serve us well into the future.

What about farm labourers?

The National Party is usually reluctant to suggest cutting migration to this sector because they know that home grown Australians are largely reluctant to work on farms.

Without imported farm labour there would be a labour shortage in rural and regional areas and farmers would have to pay higher wages to attract people.
So, maybe not.

What about the migrants who work as nurses, doctors, childcare workers, and aged care workers?

These people are needed to do the jobs that maintain our standard of services and living.

Again, maybe not them.

Refugees? Family reunions?

What level of cruelty can we inflict and still feel righteous?

Blaming migrants for all our societal ills is really just a distraction from the problems caused by policies that deliberately work to increase inequality.

It is not migrants causing house prices to increase faster than wages.

It is a combination of Capital Gains Discounts, negative gearing, and stamp duty. It is a shortage of building skills caused by the failure to train more people.

Part of this is the miserable wages and conditions that apprentices have to endure. Hence we rely on skilled migrants to fill the gaps in the building industry.

Part of it is relying on the “free market” to build housing.

This leads to land banking and zombie DAs.

Housing should be a right for all, not a privilege only for those with inherited wealth.

The government should build more social housing with the aim of driving down, or at least holding steady, house prices.

Any party that uses a fear campaign, especially one that demonises migrants, is trying to sell snake oil.

The wealth, and well being, of Australia has been built on migration for many decades.

The diversity in Australia is what truly makes this such a great place to live.

Regards,
Peter SOBEY,
Valla.