Misstatement: "Refugees and immigrants are taking our jobs…our cities are full, we can’t take any more people."

Some points:

Everyone deserves to have a decent life. People have come to Australia, whether as migrants or refugees, for the promise of a fair go and opportunity in our country. And when they come here, they contribute to our culture and community, and we’re all the better for having them here.

There have been numerous studies that show refugees and their families have made a significant economic contribution to Australian society. If anything, jobs have been created as a result of refugees coming to our country. 

Refugees are a very small part of all immigration to Australia.  8% of all immigrants to Australia in 2011 were on humanitarian visas.  They are not a significant number.

In 2011, a report from the Department of Immigration found that refugees, on average, had higher levels of education than other migrants, greater entrepreneurial qualities, and often higher levels of participation in both paid and volunteer work.

Finally, let’s not blame immigrants for the challenges in our cities, such as congestion. Our cities aren’t full, rather, we’re being failed by our politicians who haven’t made the investments in our roads, rail and other infrastructure, and who have allowed inappropriate development to get out of control.

For more information:

Australian Parliamentary Library “Migration to Australia since federation: a guide to the statistics” http://www.aph.gov.au/binaries/library/pubs/bn/sp/migrationpopulation.pdf