Danica De Giorgio:
Now, another interesting part of the intergenerational report said that net overseas migration was bolstering population growth. I know. Who would’ve thought? And don’t forget last week, Immigration Minister Tony Burke told us that Labour was not pursuing a mass migration programme.
Well, what about the more than 1.2 million people it’s brought into the country since first elected? Now, I would argue that our migration crisis is so out of control that the question needs to be asked, who do we want to be as a country and what does it mean to be an Australian? Jordan Abou-Zeid from the Institute of Public Affairs has this editorial on our national identity crisis.
Jordan Abou-Zeid:
Last week, as the government unveiled its migration overhaul, Tony Burke reminded us that Australia has been “built on migration.” We’re often told that. We’re told that Australia was built by migrants. It’s a line I’ve heard my entire life. You probably have two, and we’ve been told that because of this, you aren’t allowed to have a country anymore. But is that true? I mean, of course not, obviously. If it was true, they wouldn’t need to repeat it so much.
No, Australia was built by settlers, not by migrants. Settlers come to an untamed and wild land. Settlers conquer great hostile frontiers and build bridges, roads, and dams. Settlers come to a land where life is harder, and with that land, they build civilization.
Migrants come to something different, a country that already exists and usually one that is more prosperous and safe than their home country. All four of my grandparents migrated here, three from Northern Ireland and one from Lebanon.
They mostly worked hard and they gave a lot to this country. But what made their story possible was that it was already an Australia to join and they chose to become a part of it. They chose not just to become paper Australians, but Australians in their heart, Australians alone and nothing else.
Migration can be good or bad. The numbers can be too high or too low. It can aid an economy or it can cost our nation dearly. Every country on earth, at some point in the near or distant past, was settled by its current inhabitants, yet outside of the Anglo-Sphere, they have no issue knowing who they are. An Italian can identify an Italian. A Filipino can identify a Filipino, and even an honest Englishman can identify an Englishman. Despite all having migration in their history, they don’t deny themselves of an identity.
I understand that Australia, Canada, and the United States are colonial countries and they’re much more distinct in that they’re much newer. But does that mean these colonial countries must be subjected to an eternal identity crisis? I think the answer to that question is no.
As a country, we have to stop subjecting ourselves to this identity crisis. So don’t let anyone lecture you ever again. Don’t let them tell you that you can’t have a country, that you don’t have an identity, that your country was built by someone else. After all, migrants didn’t build Australia. Australians did.
Danica De Giorgio:
That’s something we should absolutely be proud of.
This transcript with Jordan Abou-zeid talking on Opinionated – News24 from 24 September 2026 has been edited for clarity.
