S2 E1 | What Australians think about Migration

Voices of Australia

Except for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, every Australian traces their roots to somewhere else. Since the time of Federation, the politics of who gets to start anew in this land has been a dominant theme.

According to recent results from the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute’s Mapping Social Cohesion survey’s, there has been a significant increase in positive attitudes towards migrants in Australia. 76% of people agreed that “immigrants make Australia stronger” in the 2022 survey, up from 63% in 2018, and 94% agreed that born outside of Australia can be just as good citizens as those born within the country.

However, an ever-developing housing crisis, an increase in the expected number of migrants for the year 2023, and a comprehensive overhaul of the migration system announced by the Albanese Labor government has brought further complication to the conversation surrounding migration in Australian.

Together, our guests delve into the nuances of Australia’s migration system, the impacts migrants have on our communities, and the necessary reforms needed to build a more cohesive society.

Voices of Australia is a Scanlon Foundation Research Institute podcast exploring all things interesting in the world of social cohesion.

In this episode we discuss:

• Perspectives from two different migrant journeys
• Challenges and opportunities for migration
• How people’s attitudes have shifted over the years towards migrants including misconceptions about migration
• Finding commonality to connect with one another
• Applying a strength-based approach to supporting people of refugee backgrounds

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