John Howard's Immigration Policies

John Howard won the election after the children overboard incident because he was able to attract many working class votes away from Labor.

With recent controversy over IR, the working class seems to have turned their backs on Howard whose popularity has plummeted. When the working class think of themselves as working class people fighting against big business they will align themselves against Liberal, which is the political party of the ruling class.

John Howard's biggest challenge then is shifting perceptions of the working class, making them think on events not as a conflict between economics classes but a conflict between locals and foreigners. If John Howard makes a big deal about Muslims, boat people, and Aborigines, the working class of Australia will perceive the ruling class of Australia not as an opposing economic group but as a united team of Australians. The working class will embrace the ruling class.

It seems, however, that Sydney Morning Herald Editor Ross Gittens has caught onto Howard's games. In a piece titled Back-Scratching at a National Level, Gittens says the following:

There's a saying among journalists that news is anything someone doesn't want you to know. So let me tell you all about John Howard's immigration program. It's a key part of the Government's economic policy, but one it rarely talks about.


Why? Because Howard wants his Battlers to think he shares their dislike and distrust of foreigners, especially boat people. And it wouldn't help his image for people to know he's running the biggest immigration program we've ever had.


The fact is, however, that immigration is playing a big part in keeping the economy growing strongly, preventing shortages of skilled labour from causing a wages blowout, keeping inflation under control, limiting the rise in interest rates and keeping house prices rising rather than falling.


When Howard was elected in 1996 he cut the planned immigrant intake to 68,000, but by last financial year he'd more than doubled it. His planned intake for next financial year is almost 153,000 - plus 13,000 under the humanitarian program. To that you can add about 24,000 New Zealanders - who don't need visas and will be arriving to join the 470,000 of their fellow countrypersons who are here.


Last calendar year was the eighth straight year of net immigration (that is, net of permanent departures) in excess of 100,000.


Actually, thanks to a burst of high migration in the late 1980s, net immigration has exceeded 100,000 a year in 12 of the past 20 years, having exceeded 100,000 only 12 times in the previous two centuries. Another way to put it is that the program is running at a lot more than a million immigrants a decade.

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The reality is that Howard is playing a tricky game. While he has to pretend dislike foreigners for the sake of the working class he has to also boost immigration for the ruling class who care about money and therefore want more workers.

Conflict between locals and foreigners serves the interests of the ruling class by dividing workers, reducing their potential unity and thus their bargaining power.

Workers can improve their economic situation by forming unions and other organizations. The more disunity among workers, the weaker their ability to effectively challenge the employer. If Australian workers identify primarily as Australians, rather than as workers, they will not act in their common class interests with foreign workers.

Xenophobia, promoted by the elites, is accepted in varying degrees by most Australian workers. This ‘false consciousness’ of Australian workers decreases the ability of workers to unite and struggle as a unified group for better wages, benefits and conditions. Xenophobia makes it easier for employers to play off one group against the other, reduce the average wage, and maximize employer control and profits.

Immigration numbers have increased in the Work and Business section. Howard reduced Family reunion etc. PR has increased from the Work Visa's

nokiacasio said:

Xenophobia makes it easier for employers to play off one group against the other, reduce the average wage, and maximize employer control and profits.

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This is nonsense. Its not xenophobia which causes wage suppression, its basic economics. If you bring in a large amount of unskilled migrants they will affect the labour market at the bottom end.

That Australia (and also the UK with new EU entrants migrating) havent had higher wage growth even with such low rates of unemployment has been put down by many (including central banks) to large scale immigration.

One has to ask the very obvious question: why dont the ALP and ACTU campaign against this?

Wtf? Who said Howard disliked foreigners? When a nonsense suggestion like that comes up I point to the increased numbers of people coming here as reason why that's a lie. They're good for our country, and good for Howard.

He, like myself, are against people coming here illegally. Not hard working legal workers who come from overseas.

camsmith said:

Wtf? Who said Howard disliked foreigners? When a nonsense suggestion like that comes up I point to the increased numbers of people coming here as reason why that's a lie. They're good for our country, and good for Howard.

He, like myself, are against people coming here illegally. Not hard working legal workers who come from overseas.

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For what I recall he was really against a boat load of people so desperate they would do almost anything to give their children a better shot at life.....

Glad no aussies think like that.....wanting something better for their children I mean....

Benno From Berwick said:

For what I recall he was really against a boat load of people so desperate they would do almost anything to give their children a better shot at life.....

Glad no aussies think like that.....wanting something better for their children I mean....

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So you are happy to let the 50m Indians and Chinese that would come here tomorrow if given half a chance?

What a rational immigration policy that is, let any come who wants to.

Benno From Berwick said:

For what I recall he was really against a boat load of people so desperate they would do almost anything to give their children a better shot at life.....

Glad no aussies think like that.....wanting something better for their children I mean....

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- where is my volin and tissue - i need a cry

we need skilled migrants, they should get priority if we want to keep the country functioning

I haven't got a clue what his immigration policy is but I do know that the taxpayer must be forking out a heap for the ever increasing number of black africans in my area. They are in houses that I know some Australians couldn't afford to rent a lot of their kids are at private religious schools and plenty of them drive so where is the money coming from?

Black Ball said:

I haven't got a clue what his immigration policy is but I do know that the taxpayer must be forking out a heap for the ever increasing number of black africans in my area. They are in houses that I know some Australians couldn't afford to rent a lot of their kids are at private religious schools and plenty of them drive so where is the money coming from?

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we have a lot of sudanese people in adelaide, i feel terribly sorry for them
they have been dropped into the city, with virtually no support, the ones with school age children seem to be better off but still not good at all.

the worst part is the blokes are walking around like bloody homeboys trying to imitate 50 cent, terrible stuff

Capitalist said:

- where is my volin and tissue - i need a cry

we need skilled migrants, they should get priority if we want to keep the country functioning

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Even if it is the skilled migrants who are pushing house prices up to levels that make it unaffordable for average Australians to get a foot in the market? What about skilled migrants who come and then leave and contribute nothing, but take heaps and get concessions for doing so. Doesn't any form of migrant somehow dilute the Australian culture that seems so prescious to so many people?

I agree that skilled migrants serve a purpose, fill a gap if you like, but you're deluded if you think that skilled migrants integrate any better than unskilled migrants.