Stop Blaming Migrants. The Real Crisis Is Decades of Policy Failure

Stop Blaming Migrants. The Real Crisis Is Decades of Policy Failure

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Australia saw this with a series of protests mainly about migration. Migration is the scapegoat for our ills.

The protests were attended by a motley crew cookers, crackpots and conspiracy theorists . Shamefully neo Nazis were given a prime speaking platform. They went from there to first nations camp to beat up aboriginal. Utterly disgraceful racist scum.

It wasn't all attended by right wing dregs. There were people with legitimate gripes. Buying a housing is out of except for the few. Pricing Sydney regularly exceed one million. Other cities aren't too far behind. Rents are impossible. A family on average wage can't afford to live near work.

The only options are the urban deserts of the outer suburbs. Suburbs built for housing and little else. Roads that were build for rural areas that have never been upgraded to cope with the population growth. Public transport if you can get it, consists of a bus snaking through windy, narrow streets once an hour. It's there but not user friendly. Job and businesses nearby? Forget it. Amenities? If you're lucky, you might get a park.

Thinking about a seachange or treechange? Forget it. Prices are sky high there too. Rentals are swallowed up by Airbnb. Ordinary people can't compete.

Recent protests pointed the finger at migration. It’s a straightforward narrative: more people arriving means more pressure on housing, roads, and public services. The link seems obvious, but it’s not the full picture.

The real story is decades in the making. The housing crisis isn’t caused by immigration; it’s the result of forty years of neoliberal policy. Governments have steadily withdrawn from building social housing, and housing itself has been redefined. Not as shelter, but as a financial asset. Policy now prioritises investment returns over the fundamental need to house people.

Migrants have become convenient scapegoats, but the roots of the crisis run far deeper. This is not about who’s arriving. It’s about what successive governments have chosen to abandon.

In Melton, 80% of workers commute outside the city. New housing developments often lack essential infrastructure like schools and shops, adding more cars to already congested roads. Those roads were originally built for rural areas but have been upgraded on the cheap. Not suited for fast growing urban areas. Places to sleep, not live. Residents must drive elsewhere for work, school, or shopping. Proposals to fix this like the 15-minute city are shouted down by conspiracy theorists.

Public transport remains inadequate. If you can get it. Many outer suburbs don't have any public transport. The car is the only option. The areas that have buses are poorly served. Long circuitous bus routes snaking through windy streets once an hour. The Victorian Government releases a bus plan several years ago but very little has emerged apart from a shiny document and a couple of photo ops. Melbourne's bus system is a very poor cousin.

The suburban train system is patchy but at leas has had improvement. Melbourne's Frankston line has a 10 minute frequency. By comparison, the Craigieburn line has much higher ridership but nowhere near Frankston's frequency. There are no plans for major improvement. Planning decisions seem driven more by electoral margins and population densities of 40 years ago than long-term vision.

Melbourne is sprawling and it is not sustainable. The Victorian State Government is looking at densifying well resourced inner and middle suburbs. Development is frequently blocked by NIMBYism, and suburbs have become sprawling dormitories.

Wages have stagnated. The dismantling of unions has eroded take-home pay. Forty years ago, I could get low-skilled jobs. After I left school, I worked in a tannery. It was tough, dirty work, but the union ensured decent pay. Today, after union busting, those same jobs pay minimum wage. The opportunities I had don't exist much any more.

Meanwhile, essential services like water and electricity were once public goods, are now profit-driven enterprises. Wages are getting squeezed.

And then there's climate change. We face it with inertia. Paralysed not by ignorance, but by decades of delay, distraction, and denial. The science is clear, the warnings have been loud, and yet meaningful action remains elusive. Governments talk about targets while approving new fossil fuel projects. Corporations pledge sustainability while outsourcing emissions. Individuals are told to recycle and drive less, while systemic change stalls.

This inertia isn’t passive. It’s political. It’s the result of lobbying, short-term electoral cycles, and economic models that treat environmental collapse as an externality.

We’ve known for years what needs to be done: transition to renewable energy, redesign cities for sustainability, invest in public transport, and protect ecosystems. But instead of transformation, we get tinkering.

And while we hesitate, the climate doesn’t. Heatwaves intensify, bushfires grow more ferocious, floods become more frequent. The cost of inaction is no longer theoretical. it’s measured in lives, livelihoods, and lost futures.

You don't believe in climate change? I'll tell who does. Your insurance company. Premiums have risen to cover the greater frequency of weather disasters. Floods, storms, bushfires etc.

People have lost trust in institutions. Not just because of isolated failures, but because of a sustained erosion of accountability, transparency, and public service. The institutions that were once designed to protect collective welfare now often appear captured by private interests and political opportunism.

Politics today increasingly serves the agendas of large corporations, authoritarian leaders, and populist demagogues. Corporate lobbying shapes legislation behind closed doors, while public discourse is flooded with slogans that distract from structural issues. Authoritarian figures exploit fear and division to consolidate power, undermining democratic norms. Populist rhetoric promises change but often delivers scapegoating and spectacle instead of substance.

This breakdown in trust isn’t irrational. It’s a response to decades of policy decisions that have prioritised profit over people, short-term gains over long-term stability, and political theatre over genuine representation. Citizens see rising inequality, declining services, and a political class that seems more responsive to donors than to voters. The result is cynicism, disengagement, and a growing sense that the system no longer works for ordinary people.

We've lost most of out news coverage. It used to be sustained by adverting and public broadcasting. The adverting revenue has been hoovered up by big tech. Sustained campaigns by billionaire moguls (Yes I'm looking at you Rupert Murdoch) against public broadcasting have been successful in eroding public broadcasters like the BBC and Australia's ABC.

Most people now get their news from big tech algorithms that drive clickbait and anger. No time for thoughtful analysis.

It's too easy to blame migration.

Alright: What's the solution?

Housing Crisis: From Investment to Shelter

Root Problems:

Solutions:

Infrastructure & Planning: Beyond Bedroom Suburbs

Root Problems:

Solutions:

Wages & Work: Rebuilding Economic Dignity

Root Problems:

Solutions:

Essential Services: From Profit to Public Good

Root Problems:

Solutions:

Climate Change: From Inertia to Action

Root Problems:

Solutions:

Restoring Trust in Institutions

Root Problems:

Solutions:

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