.png)
Migration is once again taking centre stage in Australian politics.
Thousands of Australians recently attended rallies across the country, calling for an end to what they describe as a policy of 'mass migration'. Headline speakers included political party leaders Pauline Hanson and Bob Katter and Australian neo-Nazi activist Thomas Sewell. Many participants insist that their attendance was driven by legitimate concerns about housing and the cost of living.
Tensions have since flared within the Liberal Party, following Jacinta Nampijinpa Price's comments about 'large numbers' of Indian migrants and Andrew Hastie's claim that Australians are 'starting to feel like strangers in our own home'.
While these events have dominated headlines, broader public sentiment around migration is more nuanced. The 2024 Mapping Social Cohesion Report found that Australians are more divided on the number of immigrants coming to Australia but strongly support non-discriminatory migration policy. And of those who believe immigration is too high:
- 75% agree that multiculturalism has been good for Australia
- 69% agree that immigrants are generally good for Australia’s economy
- 68% agree that immigrants improve Australian society by bringing new ideas and cultures
As demographer Liz Allen recently recognised, 'the contemporary population debate is largely ill-informed, lacking nuance and often detrimental. Rooted in a long history of the way we talk about population, this debate is best understood in context and with facts.
We need to find better ways of talking about migration in Australia.
This timely Folio Conversation with Dr Aruna Sathanapally (CEO, Grattan Institute) and Associate Professor Karen Block (Melbourne University) will help us understand the context and facts and navigate the often polarising issue of migration in Australia.
Conversation Leaders
Dr Aruna Sathanapally
Dr Aruna Sathanapally joined Grattan Institute as CEO in February 2024. She heads a team of leading policy thinkers, researching and advocating policy to improve the lives of Australians. A former NSW barrister and senior public servant, Aruna has worked on the design of public institutions, economic policy, and evidence-based public policy and regulation for close to twenty years.
Before joining Grattan, Aruna worked for the NSW Treasury for over five years, where she headed up analysis and advice across the macroeconomy division, state-owned corporations, state and commonwealth revenue, and health and justice reform. She led the 2021 NSW Intergenerational Report and led the economic analysis for the 2022 Women’s Economic Opportunities Review.
Aruna previously practised as a senior lawyer in the Civil Regulation group at the Australian Government Solicitor and then as a barrister at 12 Wentworth Selborne Chambers, specialising in cases involving complex economic evidence. Prior to returning to Australia 11 years ago, Aruna worked at McKinsey & Company’s London office with a range of private and public sector clients.
She holds arts (economics and politics) and law degrees from UNSW, where she graduated with the University Medal in Law, and two masters degrees in law and a doctorate from the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Menzies Scholar and John Monash Scholar. She has published internationally in the field of constitutional design and human rights and was appointed in 2015 as external legal adviser to the Parliamentary Joint Committee of Human Rights.
Karen Block
Karen Block (Associate Professor) is head of the Migration and Health Unit, Nossal Institute of Global Health in the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health. She is also the Deputy Director of the Melbourne Social Equity Institute (MSEI) and the Academic Convenor of the Anti-racism Hallmark Research Initiative. For the MSEI, she leads work across the priority area of Migration and Mobility and Community Engaged and Coproductive research.
A/Prof Block has a strong national and international profile in the area of migration studies, exploring the interplay between host communities and migrants and the complex ways in which this interaction affects health inequalities, integration, inclusion and social cohesion. Her recent and current research includes a range of projects involving immigrant and refugee-background young people, women and families focused on social inclusion across the life course, health inequalities, gender-based violence, anti-racism, and working in collaborative partnerships with communities and community-based organisations. A/Prof Block also has a keen interest in cross-disciplinary, coproductive, participatory, innovative and ethical qualitative and mixed methodologies for working with migrant children and youth and their families.
Her research and related activities in this field have strengthened understandings of factors supporting wellbeing and inclusion for refugee and migrant populations post-settlement; stimulated discourse around ethical and appropriate methodologies for working with this population; and influenced policy and practice.
Event Details
We will be serving drinks and nibbles from 6pm onwards, with the conversation starting at 6:30pm.
