At the current trajectory, severe climate change will become a reality and many of the island nations in Oceania, especially atoll countries, will need to find new, sustainable places to live. Some may move internally within Oceania, but others will search for homes in larger nations with greater security and opportunity. The most logical destination for those who decide to leave the region would be Australia or New Zealand. To ensure adequate preparation for this large-scale movement of people, anticipated hosts must examine the economic and physical challenges of welcoming these communities as well as the myriad of social implications from bringing different groups of people together. In this context, the immigration policies of these hosts must be understood to project how and where climate migrants would fit into the overall structure. This blog provides a general overview of the current immigration policy in Australia.
Current Programs
Australia currently has two types of immigration programs: a migration program and a humanitarian program. Within the migration program, people are classified by the visa they are eligible to receive: 1) skilled occupation visas; 2) student visas; 3) family visas; and 4) investment visas. For the purpose of analyzing the system for climate migrants, this blog will focus primarily on the humanitarian program.
The humanitarian program is broken into two types of visas: 1) refugee-category visas granted under the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and 2) Special Humanitarian Programme (SHP) visas for people who are subjected to “substantial discrimination amounting to a gross violation of their human rights” in their country of origin. After the 2015 migrant crisis, the limit for humanitarian visas granted was set no higher than 14,000 with 12,000 additional visas designated specifically for Syrian and Iraqi refugees.
Migration Services
The Australian government provides numerous support services for those migrants who received one of the aforementioned visas. The federal government assistance includes, but is not limited to:
- The Adult Migrant English Program– a program meant to assist non-native English speakers in receiving a functional understanding of the English language.
- The Translating and Interpreting Service National– a 24/7 telephone interpreting service that assists non-English speakers in receiving government and community services.
- The Australian Cultural Orientation Program– a source of advice about Australian culture and how to successfully live in Australia for those moving to the country.
- The Humanitarian Settlement Services Program– a program specifically for humanitarian visa recipients that provides “intensive settlement support” upon arrival and provides skills on how to access certain services after the initial arrival support expires.
- The Immigration Advice & Application Scheme– a program which provides professional assistance to visa-applicants to assist with the application process and provides advice on the overall immigration process and the intricacies associated with it.
In addition to these federal services, most states have their own local or community-based support programs that vary contingent upon location.
Political Debates
Most of the dominant political parties in Australia have supported an increase in immigration to the nation. The Howard government (1996-2007), the Rudd Government (2001-2010, & 2013), and the Abbot government (2013-2015) all advocated for an increase in immigration during their time in power. Former Prime Minister Abbot even stated in 2010, “My instinct is to extend to as many people as possible the freedom and benefits of life in Australia.”
Not everyone is as welcoming, however. The One Nation Party (ONP), led and founded by Pauline Hanson in 1997, is famous for its anti-immigrant and pro-white rhetoric. The Party has been accused of making racist remarks on numerous occasions and is closely tied to known white nationalist groups, such as National Action and League of Rights.
It is important to note that even though the ONP is not a major party in the Australian Parliament, their ideas have affected Australian society overall. In 2018 the Lowy Institute conducted a general poll and found that 54% of Australians believe that the total number of migrants coming to Australia each year is too high.
In addition, the current majority government under Prime Minister Scott Morrison has released a plan intended to cut immigration. As the social cohesion of Australia is challenged daily with the increased number of foreigners, the Prime Minister is choosing to cut the number of visible minorities instead of challenging hate groups and white nationalists.
Implications for Climate Migrants
All of this draws a puzzling picture for the incoming climate migrants. If the Australian government still has a policy of reducing immigration by the time climate change claims many of these island nations, the citizens of Oceania will need to find other avenues through which to evacuate and create new lives. For now, the wave of populism plaguing nations around the world is affecting Australia, but one can hope that this obvious safe haven will accept these migrants willingly with institutions in place ready to assist them; operative word here being “hope.”