International Students are about the Great Replacement of the Professions, By James Reed
Yesterday's blog discussed how Albo's mass immigration program has resulted in a flood of unskilled workers, which serves the corporate interests of crushing down wages, and getting people who will happily be exploited via work conditions, all to grind out a few more drops of profit for Big Business. But at the top end, there are the international students. I will argue that the material reported in the Australian Financial Review on March 16, 2025, is a mechanism for replacing the professional class with a new cadre of Chinese overlords; my position, not theirs:
Australia's international student scheme, heralded as an economic lifeline, hides a darker purpose: the systematic replacement of the nation's professional class with a new elite beholden to Chinese interests. The Australian Financial Review reported on March 16, 2025, that 201,490 international students arrived in February alone—a 15 percent surge from the previous year and 10 percent above the pre-pandemic peak of February 2019. This isn't a mere recovery from Covid's disruptions; it's a flood, and the numbers point to a deliberate strategy. With China historically dominating this influx, the scheme emerges not as a boon but as a slow conquest, seeding a class of overlords to supplant Australia's own.
The sheer scale of arrivals—200,000 in a single month—sets the stage. China has long been the top source of international students, accounting for roughly 22 percent of enrolments, according to 2024 Department of Education figures. Tens of thousands of these February newcomers are likely Chinese, outpacing competitors like India or Nepal by a wide margin. This isn't random migration; it's a pipeline, channelling educated, ambitious individuals into Australia under the guise of study. Once here, they don't just learn—they stay, embedding themselves in the professions that define modern society: technology, finance, medicine. The local professional class, already strained by underfunded domestic education, faces a quiet ousting.
Economic dependency fuels this takeover. The government touts international education as a $48 billion export industry, a figure bandied about since 2024. Yet critics like Macrobusiness have punctured this myth, arguing the net benefit is overstated. Much of that money flows out—remittances to families overseas, property purchases by foreign students, and profits siphoned back to China's economy—leaving Australia with less than advertised. Universities, however, remain hooked on the cash, especially from Chinese students who historically drove a third of this revenue, some $10-15 billion annually pre-pandemic. With public funding slashed, institutions bend over backwards to keep the tap open, even as visa rules toughen on paper. The AFR notes this February boom defied 18 months of supposed restrictions—proof the system prioritises foreign dollars over national interest. China knows this leverage: flood Australia with students, and the economy becomes a hostage, too addicted to resist.
The replacement unfolds in the job market. Labor's 2023 policy shift extended post-study work rights for graduates in shortage fields—engineering, IT, health—where Chinese students, often state-steered toward STEM, excel. From 655,000 student visa holders in mid-2023, thousands transitioned to work visas, and February 2025's 200,000 arrivals promise more. These aren't gap-fillers; they're competitors, snapping up roles locals can't access, either for lack of training or sheer numbers. Over decades, this builds a new professional class—Chinese-educated, connected, and ascendant—pushing Australia's homegrown talent to the margins. It's not about labour shortages; it's about rewriting who holds power.
Culturally and politically, the shift deepens. Chinese students arrive with soft power baked in—state-backed scholarships, ties to Confucius Institutes, and networks that echo Beijing's influence. The AFR surge suggests a critical mass, enough to reshape campus dynamics and, eventually, society. These aren't struggling migrants but an elite—wealthier, better-educated, and poised to dominate. In cities like Adelaide or Sydney, they buy property despite curbs, infiltrate elite circles, and wield influence locals can't match. Canada's pre-2024 experience—Chinese students spiking Vancouver's real estate and tech sectors—offers a preview. Australia's 2025 boom isn't integration; it's a stepping stone to control.
Who orchestrates this? The Australian government plays a complicit role. Labor's "managed system," capped at 270,000 annually per Education Minister Jason Clare in 2024, crumbled—February alone blew past that. Visa processing sped to 14 days in 2023, belying claims of toughness. This isn't control; it's facilitation, greased by China's post-Covid push to send students abroad, as the AFR noted in 2023. The deal is clear: cash and students for economic survival, at the cost of sovereignty. Universities cheer, but the outcome looms: a professional class—doctors, engineers, academics—morphs from Aussie-born to Chinese-trained, steering policy and wealth toward China's orbit.
This isn't a triumph of multiculturalism; it's a warning. The AFR's 201,490 arrivals signal a scheme unmasked—not education, but conquest by degree. The $48 billion mirage, challenged by Macrobusiness as a leaky bucket, blinds Australia to the real cost: a new class of Chinese overlords, rising not by force but by invitation. Over decades, their numbers—say, 50,000 staying annually—could swell to a million, reshaping the nation's core. The professional backbone erodes, replaced by a cohort whose loyalties lie elsewhere.
Australia's future isn't being built—it's being handed over, one visa at a time to communist China, aided by the universities.
"A record 200,000 overseas students flooded into Australia in February, defying expectations that 18 months of tougher entry rules would dampen demand and help bring migration back to historic norms.
New Australian Bureau of Statistics data reveals that 201,490 people came to Australia on student visas last month – 15 per cent higher than last year and 10 per cent higher than the last monthly record in February 2019, before the pandemic.
Dr Abul Rizvi, a former deputy secretary of the Home Affairs Department, said there were now about 700,000 foreign students in Australia. This figure is the highest on record, exceeding the 671,000 in March last year, and does not include 100,000 former students on bridging visas and 25,000 more fighting to stay with cases in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
"The government has no effective tools to control student numbers," Rizvi said.
Attempts to bring down student numbers are proving more difficult than expected, leaving the Albanese government vulnerable ahead of an election where cost of living and rental affordability are big issues for voters.
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The international student market's post-pandemic resurgence, following years of closed international borders, has plagued Labor in this term because it drove migration to record levels and stoked anger about housing and city infrastructure.
Annual net overseas migration – the difference between long-term arrivals and departures – hit a record 528,000 in 2022-23, prompting Labor and the Coalition to promise to rein it in.
Labor put in place tougher migration settings such as higher English-language requirements and proof of more cash in the bank, and more than doubled the non-refundable visa application fee from $710 to $1600 – by far the highest in the world.
An attempt to cap foreign student numbers through legislation was defeated by the Coalition and the Greens last year, but the uncertainty played havoc with the sector and gave rise to warnings of financial collapse for affected universities and colleges. Labor has since attempted to stem numbers through ministerial directions controlling visa processing.
Treasury forecasts in the May 2024 budget that net overseas migration would fall to 395,000 in 2023-24, and taper further to 260,000 this year both failed to materialise as new enrolments remained resilient despite uncertainty, and more students attempted to stay in the country for longer after graduation. The figure for 2023-24 hit 446,000 and Treasury has since recast the 2024-25 figure to 341,700.
Some migration experts still expect international student numbers will taper off soon. Phil Honeywood, chief executive of the International Education Association of Australia, noted that student visa applications in February slumped 30 per cent.
"It will take time for this sudden fall in demand to translate into lower arrivals," he said.
Education Minister Jason Clare said the government's reforms were working. "This ABS data is not an accurate reflection of the impact of the government's reforms," he said. "Peter Dutton's reckless arrogance killed international student caps and in the process he killed his credibility."
Government data also reveals that in the 12 months to February there were 30,000 refusals for new student visas from people already here – a 320 per cent increase – over the same period in 2023-24.
Shadow education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson slammed Labor for creating "an immigration mess". She said the Coalition would control numbers in a "measured and responsible way".
Sunny Singh, 23, arrived in Geelong to study civil engineering at Deakin University in February 2020 and two weeks later found himself in COVID-19 lockdowns.
He now works as a stormwater engineer with the local government, a job that started as an internship and eventually turned into a full-time role before he had even graduated.
Singh's decision to study in Australia was based on several factors including that he was aware of skill shortages in engineering here, and also difficulty in qualifying for the highly regarded Indian institutes of technology, which attract about 1.5 million applications a year.
"I missed the mark, so I looked, started looking overseas. One thing that stood out in Australia was definitely the skill shortage. And the Australian government was very open at the time to having more young engineers on board because they wanted to fill those gaps," said Singh.
Singh, who is on a postgraduate work visa, said he will apply for permanent residency when his current visa expires."
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