Why we need more immigrants
28 February 2007
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Philippe Legrain |
If Australia's current immigration rules were in place in the 1950s, then Hungarian-born Frank Lowy, co-founder of The Westfield Group and Australia's second wealthiest man, would probably not have been admitted into the country, suggested Philippe Legrain when he delivered the Sydney Ideas lecture at the Seymour Centre last night.
"Australia micro-manages immigration using an absurd points system. It creates the illusion that bureaucrats are able to select the perfect people to slot into the Australian economy. This is a fallacy," he argued.
According to Legrain, UK-based author of Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them, there should be an increase in international migration. Governments should not only free up their borders for trade, but should also make the movement of people easier in order to improve the global economy and the livelihoods of people worldwide. It makes moral and economic sense, he argued.
"Immigrants are typically hardworking and enterprising. Twenty-one of Britain's Nobel Prize Winners have been refugees. And remember, immigrants are also emigrants. Leaving your home country, family, friends and everything you know, takes courage - a trait countries would want their citizens to have," he said.
Paradoxically, in this age of global trade, governments want products to move freely but for people to stay put, according to Legrain. But rich countries need immigrants. Demand for migrants in the West will rise as populations decrease. Australia especially will need unskilled workers as the number of people over 65 is set to double. "Your country will need people to care for the elderly," he said.
Moreover, immigrants introduce diversity and stimulate trade between countries. "For instance, Chinese students study in Silicon Valley in California and then stay there and open businesses which trade with China. It's a win-win situation," he explained.
People's fears about asylum seekers 'invading' their country's borders blur into fears about immigration more generally, suggested Legrain. However, contrary to the panic in rich countries, opening borders won't mean people will rush in.
"Until 1960, when the US-Mexico border was open, all the Mexicans didn't move north. Instead, a relatively small number of them worked in the States in the summer and then moved back to Mexico in the winter. On the whole, people like to return home," he said.
Many people in wealthy countries are afraid that multiculturalism compromises national values and a national identity, explained Legrain. However, every Australian is a complex individual unable to be slotted neatly into a single category.
"The question we must ask ourselves is this: Is our concept of 'us' broad and abstract enough to accommodate 'them'?", he said.
This was the first lecture in the 2007 Sydney Ideas series.
Contact: Katrina O'Brien
Phone: 9036 7842