Building A Nation

OPINION PIECE

Immigration is important. Our country has been built on it. We would not be the Australia we are today without people choosing to set up their lives here.

In Dawson, we have some of the best and most successful examples of what immigrations brings and what it builds over generations. I’m talking about all the people who run farms, workshops and businesses across the region, professionals in our clinics, schools and our offices, the on the ground workers who came looking for a better life, and of course the backpackers who came for a visit but have stayed a lifetime. To everyone who has come to create a life and contribute to our region and nation, I say thank you.

But we have to be honest. Immigration needs to be properly managed. Right now, I have major concerns. Major concerns with how the current government has been managing our immigration.

There are two key elements of immigration the government must get right.

First, the number of people coming in must be balanced with the pace in which infrastructure can be built. Infrastructure like housing, roads, schools, and hospitals. Yes, we’ve got the space, but if there’s nowhere to live, no hospital beds, no classrooms, then the pressure flows to everyone.

Second, we must make sure the type of people coming share our values. To be allowed to live in Australia is like winning the Lotto, the golden ticket! Migrants should be here to make a life, make a contribution, and become a positive part of our communities.

The government is failing on both of these key metrics. The numbers are way too high, and the vetting process appears to be non existent. Labor has lost control of our borders.

The government, through weak border controls and poor vetting, has allowed too many people in, and they have let in too many that openly hate our country and people. This is unacceptable.

It’s not like new arrivals have tripped over the border like they can in other parts of the world. At the very least, the government has the time of the flight to make sure we’re not letting in people who will do harm.

There’s no excuse for un-Australian behaviour, and there is no excuse for letting that behaviour in and allowing it to stay.

It’s simple. Do the right thing, a forever life awaits. Do the wrong thing, then back you go.

Labor has always had a poor record on immigration. But the scary thing with the current Labor government is that they are knowingly turning a blind eye. They do nothing about vile hatred being spewed on our city streets or when our national flag is burnt. Yet, they condemn those who wave the Aussie flag in face of that hate.

We need a government with the guts to get immigration right. We need a governemnt that balances incoming numbers with the infrastructure being built, and we need a government that properly vets new arrivals to ensures Australia remains safe, united, and strong.

Australia is built on immigration. Get immigration wrong, and all the things we value as a nation could be resigned to history. Get immigration right, and the Nation prospers long into the future.

Andrew Willcox
Member for Dawson, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Sovereign Capability

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