CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | Contact
The Federal Opposition are gaining even more momentum heading into Christmas, as it becomes even more clear that Prime Minister Albanese is struggling to make the changes that Australians expect from their government to be making in a cost-of-living crisis.
The lack of movement on housing reform has becoming glaringly obvious, as Australia’s capital cities begin hollowing out their young families. Any efforts that the government has made to boost supplies in housing have been repeatedly voted down by a Coalition Opposition who think the housing market is perfectly fine, and Greens MPs who think Labor aren’t going far enough.
Meanwhile, our Universities are begging for the Government to leave them alone, and allow the cash cow of hundreds of thousands of foreign students to remain well watered and fed.
However, with unprecedented levels of both long-term and short term immigration following the era of pandemic closed borders, the government is also well aware that Australians might be starting the think our population has grown unsustainbly.
The Opposition certainly thinks this, as Peter Dutton begins carving out his path to election by pressing the hot buttons of some old-fashioned right-wing xenophobia.
Unfortunately for the universities, this means that some things are going to have to change. No longer can the suburbs of Australian cities that surround tertiary education institutions continue to warehouse thousands of foreign students, which is also bad news for the property developers building the luxury high-rise apartments that house them.
It’s also bad news for the student housing operators, who are being told this conveyor belt of young people to cram into bunkbeds might not be there forever.
However, there is a ray of sunshine, because it seems the Opposition aren’t that interested in capping the numbers of foreign students.
Labor has drafted legislation that aims bring temporary migration numbers back to pre-pandemic levels and crack down on dodgy education providers by limiting the number of international students able to start study in Australia to 270,000 next year.
However, the Greens do not believe in flags and borders and therefor will not vote for this cap. As became clear during the multiple attempts at passing housing reform, the Greens voting with the Liberals is enough to ensure that legislation is not passed.
It is not entirely certain why the Liberals will not be voting for this cap, but perhaps because they need them here to shoulder blame for the post-pandemic economic stress that followed their ten years of government.
