The Canberra Times’ Crispin Hull has called on the Teal independents to “connect the big policy dots” and end the destructive ‘Big Australia’ immigration policy endorsed by the three major parties:
The link between stressed public health and public education, on one hand, and low tax for the wealthy and high immigration is obvious.
If Labor is bent on retaining the Coalition’s high immigration; low-tax for the wealthy; pro-big business policies as if the 21 May vote did not happen, some pressure must come from elsewhere. And who better than the Teals?..
Covid has changed nearly everything. It certainly should change our view on immigration. As covid struck, the economic experts predicted that unemployment would hit up to 15 per cent. But with the borders closed and no immigration, unemployment sank to a 30-year low.
That lesson should ink in and it is one over which the Teals should exert their legislative influence. At present the immigration level is set by the Minister for Immigration and the Parliament gets no say. The Minister may consult colleagues and business but clearly has not taken any heed of the mass opinion of voters who are fed up with congestion; infrastructure stress; hospital queues and environmental stress.
Perhaps the Teals could introduce legislation that requires parliamentary approval of the Minister’s decision. Or at least make the decision disallowable by either House, as with a lot of minister-made regulation…
There has been no…
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