If migration is a key election issue, the debate had better be civil

International students in Melbourne. Source: AAP / JULIAN SMITH/AAPIMAGE

Is Australia's great multicultural experiment over? That's what two experts on immigration and international relations have asked in an address to the National Press Club in Canberra. They have called for a new understanding of net migration and the role of international students - if the project is to be saved.

The Albanese government has committed to reducing the annual figure to 235,000 after a report on Australia's net migration grew to over 500,000 in the year up to September 2023.
Both the federal government and opposition have committed to capping the number of international students, the former by limiting the number each university can enrol from January 2025.
Two immigration and international policy experts have given an address to the National Press Club in Canberra, asking whether Australia's great multicultural experiment might be over.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

08:36