On the basis of some newspaper reports in the middle of last year, one could easily gain the impression that a large number of business migrants coming to Australia were criminals and that many were characters of suspect behaviour.
A nation’s immigration policy can reveal a good deal about moral and humanitarian issues as well as economic considerations. The recent changes in guidelines for immigration and the numbers allowed to come to Australia illustrate this point.
Anyone who knows Gerry Hand is aware of his sincerity and his integrity. Immigration, thanks to the recession and the evaporation of the post-war consensus that “Immigration is a good thing”, is looming as a significant political issue – and the Opposition’s opportunistic approach doesn’t help the debate focus on some of the crunch issues. In 1992, it is hardly a “plum job” to be Minister for Immigration.