The Unskilled Senator
Hanson’s relentless “unskilled” bang-on surrounding Australian migration is pretty low political rhetoric used to stir anxiety about national identity and economic stability, but when we move past the soundbites and look at the actual data, a very different picture emerges. Far from being a burden, migration remains the primary engine room of the Australian economy, and the claim that we are “drowning” in unskilled arrivals is increasingly out of step with reality.
To understand why, we have to look at the mechanics of the migration system itself. The idea that the gates are flinging open to anyone is the first myth to dismantle. According to recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Net Overseas Migration has been in steady decline since the post-pandemic catch-up spike, returning to more sustainable long-term levels. More importantly, the label of “unskilled” simply doesn’t stick to the people arriving under our current framework. The Permanent Migration Program is heavily weighted toward the Skilled Stream, with roughly 70% of places specifically allocated to individuals hand-picked to fill the exact gaps our economy cannot fill domestically. These aren’t people arriving without a plan; they are doctors, engineers, and specialised tradespeople required to keep our infrastructure functioning.
If we look at the sectors most reliant on migrant labour, they are the backbone of our essential services, not low-tier industries. In Healthcare and Aged Care, Australia faces a chronic shortage of registered nurses and GPs, and migrants currently make up a vital share of this frontline workforce. In the Construction sector, we see a profound irony: to solve the very housing crisis often blamed on migrants, we actually need more of them. Skilled electricians, carpenters, and civil engineers are in desperate demand to meet government housing targets. Similarly, in Education and the growing Renewable Energy sector, we’re importing the specific expertise needed for secondary teaching and the transition to a net-zero economy.
The claim that these individuals drain the system is perhaps her most significant piece of bullshitting. Treasury modelling consistently shows that migration is a net positive for the federal budget. Because most migrants arrive in the prime of their working lives, they contribute significantly more in taxes than they reclaim in services. On average, a migrant contributes approximately 10% more to the economy over their lifetime than an Australian-born resident, largely because the Australian taxpayer did not have to fund their childhood education or early healthcare.
Migration acts as a vital hedge against Australia’s demographic time bomb. As the birth rate of Australian-born citizens remains low, our workforce would naturally shrink and age without new arrivals. Migration keeps the labour market dynamic and ensures there is a tax base capable of supporting the pension and healthcare costs of an aging population. It’s true that high migration levels can put pressure on housing and urban infrastructure, but blaming unskilled migrants for these issues is a classic case of misdirection. The housing shortage is the result of decades of planning failures and a lack of construction labour, the very labour that the migration system is now working to recruit. Australia is not drowning in unskilled migrants; we are competing in a global market for the talent we need to survive the 21st century.
Whether it’s the nurse in an ICU or the software engineer securing our digital infrastructure, the people keeping this country running are the very ones being sidelined by her infantile, toxic, racist rhetoric.
And yes, I agree that there is a need for more skilled labour; perhaps unskilled people should stick to frying up flake and potato scallops and leave politics to those with an IQ of at least double digits, or those who can at least string a coherent sentence together.