How racism is shaping Australia’s migration debate

Australia’s cost of living crisis isn’t caused by immigrants. This is the result of inequality-focused politics, and scapegoating makes the situation worse. Carl Rhodes reports.

AUSTRALIA enters 2026 in deep economic unrest. Prices remain high, wages are virtually unchanged, and the housing crisis shows no signs of abating. In this climate of frustration and uncertainty, immigration emerged as a political pressure valve.

A new chapter in racial politics is opening, with immigration serving as an outlet for public anger and long-standing racial anxieties resurfacing. At the heart of this shift is the populist political maneuver of blaming immigrants and immigration for the economic problems facing Australians.

Haznedar was in this climate. Jim Chalmers launched Australia’s 2025 Population StatementHe emphasized that net migration was below estimates. His announcement reached a country where immigration has become a lightning rod for wider fears and where racist policies are increasingly and dangerously shaping public debate.

Like Joseph Stiglitz He argued that inequality was a policy choice, not an accident of the market. But instead of confronting policies that widen the gap between wealthy Australians and everyone else, political energy is being directed to scapegoating newcomers. This deviation represents a fatal departure from the real crisis: the lack of political will to tackle deep-seated inequality.

When extremism enters the public sphere

Immigration-related tensions have increased through 2025. Anti-immigration rallies across the country have become a flashpoint, with immigrants blamed for everything from the cost of living crisis to the alleged erosion of Australian culture.

The language used at these events and in most comments relied heavily on old racist tropes: foreigners taking ‘our’ jobs, threatening ‘our’ values and straining services. Some go further and say ‘return Program to deport legal immigrants. Economic frustration has morphed into cultural fear in a divisive and manipulative way.

Neo-Nazi activist at a rally Thomas Sewell He was invited to speak on the steps of Victorian Parliament House. To applause from the crowd, he called on Australians to unite “in the fight against people who hate this country” and warned that “if we don’t stop immigration, our death is certain.” This was a striking example of how extremist rhetoric is being featured in today’s public squares.

Meanwhile, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation continued. rise in mainstream popularity, population selection growth Immigrants are portrayed as a source of stagnating wages and declining homeownership, while being seen as a burden on housing, infrastructure and services. This is no longer fringe politics. When Australian Financial Review When voters were asked which party was best positioned to address important issues, One Nation topped the list.

The real crisis is not immigration, but inequality

The cost of living crisis is undeniably real. Ordinary Australians face stagnant wages, rising prices and out-of-control housing costs. Research published by Smith Family It shows that four in five families are worried about affording basic school supplies. Cost of living ranks first for the second year in a row anxiety among young Australians.

But these pressures do not justify turning immigrants into convenient villains. Blaming them for structural problems is a familiar pattern in Australian history and a destructive feature of modern populism. The crisis is economic, but the politics surrounding it are becoming increasingly racist and racist.

The populist attack on immigration also refuses to acknowledge the vital role of immigration in sustaining the economy. as Chalmers notedThe fundamental force shaping Australia is a rapidly aging population. More Australians are entering retirement as birth rates fall. Without working immigrants, the burden of funding services for an aging population would fall on the shoulders of a shrinking workforce of existing Australians.

Immigration has preserved Australia’s way of life rather than threatening it.

Politics not prejudice

If inequality fuels reactionary populism, the cure is bold policy reform, not racially motivated politics. The cost of living crisis is not a result of immigration; This is the result of decades of bipartisan support for neoliberal economic policy that has led the very rich to accumulate vast amounts of wealth at the expense of everyone else.

The biggest culprits are negative gearing, which allows high-income earners to more easily purchase multiple properties; capital gains tax credits that reward asset income over wages; an inadequate progressive income tax that limits the spending power of working people; pension tax concessions aimed at the rich; weak wealth taxation; and no inheritance tax.

Moreover, de-unionisation has weakened workers’ bargaining power, public housing has been neglected and less affluent Australians have poorer access to education and childcare.

Changing these environments by reforming tax privileges, rebuilding public housing, strengthening collective bargaining, and investing in equal access to education will reduce inequality and alleviate the pressures that fuel xenophobic politics. Reducing immigration will make the situation worse.

Australia is a rich country. It’s not inevitable that so many people will struggle. This is the result of political choices that favor asset owners over wage earners and preserve wealth over opportunity.

Inequality is not a natural state, it is a result of policy. Until Australia finds the courage to confront these choices, the economic pressure felt by millions will continue, no matter how loudly immigrants are blamed for problems they did not create.

Carl Rhodes is Professor of Business and Society at the University of Technology Sydney. Wrote several books On the relationship between liberal democracy and contemporary capitalism. You can follow him on X/Twitter @ProfCarlRhodes.

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