By John Wayne on Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Category: Race, Culture, Nation

The Immigration Divide: Australia's Elites vs. the Everyday Struggle, By Tom North and Paul Walker

In the sun-deprived suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne, where housing prices soar like magpies and traffic snarls like a bad dream, a quiet rebellion is brewing among ordinary Australians. For years, the narrative has been one of boundless opportunity, a land of plenty welcoming the world with open arms. But beneath the surface, a stark divide has emerged: while everyday citizens decry the relentless tide of high immigration as a strain on resources, infrastructure, and identity, the nation's elites, big business tycoons, university administrators, and their lobbyists, clamour for more, more, more! It's as if no number is ever enough; even relocating the entire global population to these shores wouldn't satiate their appetite. They envision a dystopian future where people are stacked atop one another, reminiscent of the pod-like existence in the opening scenes of The Matrix, all in the name of economic growth and profit margins.

Let's start with the pulse of the people. Recent polls paint a clear picture of widespread discontent. According to the 2025 Lowy Institute Poll, a resounding 53% of Australians believe the total number of migrants arriving each year is simply too high. This isn't a fringe view; it's echoed across multiple surveys. A February 2025 Guardian report revealed that while many support skilled migration, a majority still favour overall lower levels, citing pressures on housing and services. Even in Western Sydney, a YouGov poll from April 2025 found 46% of voters agreeing that immigration should be reduced until housing improves. Social media amplifies this sentiment, posts on X (formerly Twitter) rail against the influx, linking it to skyrocketing rents, overcrowded schools, and a dilution of cultural cohesion. One user lamented, "It's not racist to have concerns about immigration... the numbers are simply too high," while another tied it directly to economic woes: "The inflation is out of control because of... mass immigration." These voices aren't isolated; they represent a groundswell of frustration from those feeling the pinch in their daily lives.

Why this opposition? For ordinary citizens, high immigration exacerbates tangible hardships. Australia's population has ballooned from 3.8 million in 1901 to over 27.2 million today, largely fuelled by migration, leading to acute shortages in housing and infrastructure. Rents in major cities have surged, wages stagnate under increased labor competition, and public services strain under the weight. Polls consistently show that Australians overestimate migration numbers and underestimate benefits, but their concerns are rooted in reality: a 2025 Devpolicy analysis highlighted how even small snippets of information can sway public opinion toward viewing immigration as excessive. In outer suburbs, where families scrape by, the influx feels like an imposition, a policy cooked up in boardrooms and ivory towers, far removed from the realities of clogged roads and unaffordable homes.

Contrast this with the elite chorus singing praises for endless arrivals. Big business has long been the loudest advocate for high immigration, viewing it as a lifeline for cheap labour and perpetual growth. The Business Council of Australia, in 2023, rejected Coalition claims of a "Big Australia" surge, pushing instead for more business-friendly migration policies. Economists and corporate leaders argue it boosts GDP and fills skill gaps, but critics see it as a tool for suppressing wages and inflating profits.The conservative government under John Howard ramped up immigration to serve business interests, a pattern that persists today. The Australia Institute has pointed out how banks, retailers, and other giants thrive on population-driven demand: "For our big banks... high levels of immigration growth mean high levels of profit growth." No wonder they lobby relentlessly, migration isn't about altruism: it's about the bottom line, money for Big Business!

Universities, those bastions of higher treason, are even more brazen in their dependency. Australia's higher education sector has become hooked on international student fees, which account for over a quarter of overall operating revenue, per S&P Global Ratings. The Group of Eight universities warned in May 2024 that they are "reliant" on these fees, opposing government caps as an "unprecedented overreach," like drug junkies, although druggies are less socially harmful. A Times Higher Education piece from July 2025 questioned if Australia is exploiting these students, noting how reliance on tuition makes selectivity lax. With international arrivals hitting records, universities maximise revenue through "unscrupulous" providers, as critics like IPA's Adam Creighton have recently highlighted. This isn't education; it's a migration pipeline disguised as pseudo-academia, where students pay exorbitant fees for visas and work rights, propping up institutions while ordinary Aussies compete for jobs.

The situation is staggering. Think tanks like the IPA, once cheerleaders for "mass migration" under Howard and Rudd, now pivot to criticism as public backlash mounts. Yet, the core elite incentive remains: more people mean more consumers, more workers, more fees. It's a voracious hunger that knows no bounds. Proportionally, Australia's influx rivals or exceeds the U.S. under Biden, yet it's "legal" and lauded as economic savvy. But as tolerance frays in outer suburbs, social breakdown looms, much like Europe's woes.

This divide isn't just policy; it's a betrayal. Ordinary citizens, through polls and protests, demand a pause, lower numbers, better integration, focus on housing and wages. Elites, insulated in affluent enclaves, dismiss these as xenophobia while reaping the rewards. Until we bridge this gap, Australia risks becoming a nation of haves and have-nots, where the many suffer for the greed of the few. The winds may be shifting, but without real change, the storm will only grow. And then a hard rain's going to fall, as it always does.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-27/have-the-political-winds-shifted-on-high-immigration-australia/105573530

https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2025/08/australia-declares-open-season-on-visa-racketeering/

"Australia currently has the highest share of temporary migrants and international students as a percentage of our population in the advanced world.

The latest temporary visa data from the Department of Home Affairs shows that there were a record 2,460,000 temporary migrants in Australia (excluding visitors) in Q2 2025.

This figure was up a whopping 750,000 from when Labor came to office in Q2 2022. It is also 550,000 higher than the pre-pandemic peak under the former Coalition government." 

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