The Albanese Government has done a reasonable job in repairing the immigration train wreck it inherited from the Coalition. However, excessive caution and fear of being wedged has severely limited its achievements. In the forthcoming election, the Dutton Opposition can be expected to be short on policy, but to stoke up fears about border security and foreigners. He will borrow from the nasty Trump playbook when convenient. Australia deserves better immigration policy and administration.

Labor policy

In coming to office in 2022, Labor inherited an immigration policy and administration at its lowest ebb in Australian history.

Over a decade, the Coalition had effectively neutered the immigration function by absorbing it into a security obsessed, and widely discredited, Department of Home Affairs.

In the time available, Labor has done a creditable repair job. It initiated the Parkinson and other reviews to restore some coherence in policy and injected some more resources into the immigration function. The party made some inroads into scandalous and unprecedented visa application backlogs, re-introduced an immigration compliance function, regularised Temporary Protection Visa holders, increased the humanitarian program, introduced some innovative humanitarian program initiatives, resolved the long-term temporary status of New Zealand citizens in Australia and undertook other specific initiatives, such as those related to skilled migration, worker protection and connections with Pacific neighbours.

But endemic problems remain.

The immigration function is still a shadow of its former self. Massive loss of deep expertise and the unwanted injection of an over-reaching security culture are at the heart of the problem. Client service often remains extremely poor. Published client service targets were abandoned by Home Affairs years ago. Citizenship applicants have fared particularly badly, with most having to wait one full year from the time they lodge their application until they are able to attend a citizenship ceremony and make the pledge of loyalty to Australia and its people. Frankly, it would be great if recent reports of Tony Burke accelerating citizenship ceremonies in some areas were true, whatever the motivation, because it would show you can get the system moving if you really want to. Partner visa processing times remain unconscionably long.

Labor was also slow to react to emerging policy issues such as burgeoning net overseas migration, out-of-control overseas student policy and pivotal High Court decisions. The solutions they have adopted to these problems are likely unworkable in the long-term. Inexplicably, some immigration policy functions remain outsourced to other departments.

Fear of being wedged by the Opposition has also seen Labor doubling down on bad policy. Labor has persisted in trying to use Australian citizenship deprivation as a weapon against terrorism despite its evident ineffectiveness. In doing so, it has entrenched the principle that, if you are a dual citizen, your Australian citizenship is worth less than an Australian citizen who isn’t.

It has also failed to use the strategic opportunity provided by High Court decisions to return immigration detention to a limited tool for removal of non-citizens with no right to remain in Australia. Instead, under pressure from the Opposition, it persists in trying to use it for protection of the community against a small number of non-citizens who have already served their gaol sentences – which is properly a matter for state and territory criminal justice systems and prisons.

It has foolishly criminalised refusal of unlawful non-citizens to co-operate with their removal which will just result in an unnecessary increase in the prison population. It has also given itself a likely useless and counter-productive power to refuse visas to all citizens from countries that do not accept the return of their nationals deported from Australia involuntarily, as a supposed bargaining chip. So, we will have punishment of the completely innocent with likely no effect on the governments concerned.

Underlying structural problems have been shirked. Labor unwisely kept the immigration function within the wholly unsuitable, and rapidly shrinking Home Affairs portfolio. Their two original portfolio ministers were unceremoniously “reassigned” because of perceived poor handling of immigration controversies. Within the constraints of this completely flawed set-up, they have been unable to deliver stable and continuous leadership of the immigration function. The latest example is the recently announced departure of the associate secretary overseeing immigration (rather unhelpfully based in Melbourne throughout her term in office) after barely a year in the job.

Coalition policy

Dutton has an abysmal record on immigration policy, as uncovered by successive public reviews since Labor took office in 2022.

His approach as minister centred on projecting a tough-guy image, beating his chest on border security/stopping the boats and cutting the size of the permanent migration program. At the same time, he quietly let immigration administration and client service disintegrate.

As has been well publicised, he presided over the highest rate of domestic asylum seeker applications ever, allowing the system to be used as a foreign worker scam. At the same time, he effectively abolished immigration compliance operations, except for an obsessive focus on a relatively small number of convicted non-citizens from New Zealand. Long-term detention numbers blew out again under his watch. “Buy a visa” schemes were encouraged. The Nixon review uncovered extensive integrity failures.

He also oversaw a failed attempt for the entire Australian immigration information technology system to be put in the hands of a private company.

While in office, Dutton introduced into Parliament the most restrictive Australian Citizenship legislation since the White Australia policy. The legislation was blocked in the Senate but would have created a substantial underclass of permanent residents who could never become Australian citizens. This was yet another in a series of attempts by Coalition Governments to “squeeze the citizenship orange” for political purposes. There was not the slightest evidence that the ridiculous new citizenship hurdles would make anyone a better citizen – but that was never the point.

Dutton has also been perfectly happy to take a swipe at minorities when convenient. Think of the comments about African “gangs” scaring Melbourne diners, unsuitable Lebanese migrants and implied links between anyone from Gaza and terrorism.

For the forthcoming election campaign, do not expect too many substantive policies. The Coalition has accused Labor of a “Big Australia” agenda (whatever that is) and promised to reduce migration to “sensible levels” (with sensible numbers mostly unspecified). Dutton has promised to cut the permanent migration program by 25%, the humanitarian program, the international student intake and, more ambiguously, to reduce net migration. Of course, we are to get tougher border security and immigration detention measures.

We are likely to hear many populist, Trump-like, innuendos in the campaign – playing on fears about border security and a new influx of asylum-seeker boats, terrorists getting past security checking arrangements and non-citizens with criminal convictions. Perhaps the Australian Citizenship “orange” will be squeezed again.

The Coalition retains an inexplicable commitment to its Home Affairs model. The sacking of the inaugural heads of both the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Border Force for misconduct, the consistently rock-bottom morale, the numerous reports of financial waste in major contracts, the reviews showing that the much-trumpeted better co-ordination between security agencies never actually happened in practice, the major lapses of immigration integrity and client service and the almost unanimous view among independent commentators of the Home Affairs concept’s failure are just water off a duck’s back. One wonders what degree of failure would be required to make them let it go.

What we need from the major parties

The full suite of Australian migration policies concerning immigration, refugees, migrant settlement, compliance, citizenship and multicultural affairs remain as important as they have ever been to Australia’s future.

We need clear, evidence-based, policy from both major parties and not populist slogans or hints about the “vibe” of policies. These policies need to be based on a forward-looking view of Australia’s place in the world and our region as well as the development of Australian society and economy.

Both parties need to commit to reinstating a freestanding Department of Immigration covering the full suite of migration policies – capable of high-quality policy advice and a high standard of client service.

We need to avoid the situation where the low standards of immigration policy and administration established under the Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison and Dutton regimes, and only partially remedied under Labor, are accepted as the new normal.

The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.