Work still to do in nuanced immigration debate

September 12, 2025 — 1.45pm

When tackling the debate over immigration, it’s worth stating two basic facts.

First: migration has been – and continues to be – undoubtedly good for Australia. We are a culturally and financially richer country for it. The Herald also has a great history of advocating for a big Australia and celebrating Sydney’s diversity.

Second: racism is all too common in our country. The August 31 March for Australia rallies featured appalling acts of racism and thuggery, and gave migrant communities cause to fear for their safety.

There is no place for neo-Nazis in our country. The protests were rightly criticised, including by Anthony Albanese. The prime minister condemned the racism and violence on display at the rallies but copped criticism for claiming that “good people” also attended.

Anti-immigration protesters march from Belmore Park towards Victoria Park during the recent “March for Australia”.Credit: Getty Images

The Herald does not have a lot of sympathy for whether those “good” people who attended the march felt unfairly condemned. But it is interested in the views of the many people who did not attend the protest but who do hold concerns about immigration. How would they have felt about the condemnation, and do attempts to shut down debate over this issue risk pushing more people to the fringes?

All racists don’t like immigration but it is not true that all people who are concerned about immigration are racists. This was clearly the point Albanese was trying to convey a couple of weeks ago.

There is a wealth of evidence that there is little to no link between immigration and challenges like housing affordability, cost of living and social cohesion, but we can’t hide from the reality that many people believe it to be the case.

Polling published by the Herald in November last year found 49 per cent of Australians believe immigration is too high, up from 33 per cent last year.

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This shift shows state and federal governments have much more work to do. ACT Senator David Pocock has for a long time been pushing for federal parliament to examine Australia’s immigration system. He last year tried to get parliament to have an inquiry into population growth and planning in Australia but got zero support.

In a recent opinion piece Pocock said the population and immigration debate that boiled over on August 31 has been simmering for some time. “When governments fail to listen and plan, a vacuum opens up. This allows extremists – including white supremacists and neo-Nazis – to prey on people’s genuinely held concerns,” he wrote.

Like Pocock, the Herald is concerned about what can happen when anti-immigration sentiment can lead. The shameless charlatan Nigel Farage and his Reform UK party are riding high in the polls in the UK amid a large number of migrant boats crossing the English Channel. We are a long way off from an election but the chances of Farage taking the keys to Downing Street are not insignificant.

While Australia may have avoided a surge in far-right sentiment over recent years, we cannot afford to be complacent – or put difficult conversations in the too-hard basket.

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