Australians ‘Too Polite’ to Blame Migrants for Housing Crisis: Expert Claims ‘Politeness Polls’ Mask True Feelings on Immigration
- 71% of Australians support immigration, but expert claims this is due to ‘politeness’ rather than true feelings
- Thousands protest against high immigration in major cities, citing housing unaffordability and job competition
- Net overseas migration falls from record high, but expert warns that immigration levels are still too high
Bob Birrell, president of The Australian Population Research Institute (TAPRI), has sparked controversy by claiming that Australians are too polite to blame migrants for the country’s housing crisis. According to Birrell, many Australians, including well-established migrants, believe that immigration levels are too high, but are reluctant to express their true feelings due to fear of being labeled racist.
“The poll that the ABS cited, it’s really just probing Australians’ politeness,” Birrell told The Daily Mail. “Most people are not prepared to say outright that migrants are a problem, but when we ask them in our survey whether they are in favour of more diversity or not, the great majority of voters – including most well-established migrants – say they’re opposed to that.”
Birrell’s comments come as thousands of people took to the streets in major cities to protest against high immigration, citing housing unaffordability and job competition as major concerns. The protests were sparked by a recent report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which found that 71% of Australians support immigration.
However, Birrell claims that this figure is misleading, and that many Australians are secretly opposed to high immigration levels. “The concerns are very evident,” he said. “Most voters could see the connection between high levels of immigration and housing unaffordability.”
The ABS has defended its report, stating that “cultural diversity is one of the greatest assets of Australian society”. However, Birrell argues that this is a simplistic view, and that the true impact of immigration on Australian society is far more complex.
Other polls have recorded less support for immigration, with a TAPRI poll finding that 67% of respondents disagreed with the idea that Australia needed to boost immigration “to increase our ethnic and other forms of diversity”. A Lowy Institute poll in June found that 53% believed the number of migrants is too high, compared with 38% who thought it was about right and 7% who regarded it as too low.
The fall in support for immigration comes as net overseas migration fell from a record high of 548,800 in the year to September 2023, to 340,800 by the end of last year. However, Birrell warns that immigration levels are still too high, and that the government needs to take action to address the housing crisis.
“We’re losing twice as many young people as we gain,” said Premier Chris Minns, announcing changes to planning rules to fast-track new housing and override local councils. “We’re now losing our best and brightest young people. The ones we want to have join the New South Wales public education system, become police officers, start their own businesses, become entrepreneurs.”
The New South Wales government has been forced to act, with the national vacancy rate remaining tight at 1.2% in August, according to SQM Research data. The state is required to build 377,000 homes over the five years to June 2029 under a National Housing Accord plan for 1.2 million new homes.