The rise of the One Nation party and negative public opinion about Australia's immigration policies are putting pressure on worker rights reforms – particularly for temporary visa-holders, new research has found.
In a new study published this month in the Australian Journal of Political Science, political scientist Dr Emily Foley examines Albanese Labor Party documents, ministerial statements and departmental notices on temporary labour migration reform between 2022 and 2025.
"In the early years, considerable strides were made in aligning the migration system with social democratic values, by addressing exploitation, expanding pathways to permanent residency, lifting wages for skilled migrants and embedding union oversight through labour agreements," says Dr Foley, a researcher from Flinders University's Jeff Bleich Centre for Democracy and Disruptive Technologies and the University of Canberra's Centre for Deliberate Democracy.
"However, it appears that meaningful reform for temporary migrant rights became structurally fragile during the Government's first term.
"The Government progressively lost control of its migration policy messaging as migration became electorally sensitive, with the agenda switching to focus on housing affordability, border security and sustainability."
Instead of continuing with more inclusive and durable reform, the Government has instead had a "sharp retrenchment" in policy as a response to this shift in external forces and electoral pressures.
Non-permanent resident visas have surpassed permanent migrant grants issued since 2013, with about 2 million temporary migrants living and working in Australia by the start of the pandemic in 2020. This change was led by in-demand skilled workers to support economic and political goals in labour markets.
"The ALP's complex relationship with migration sits within the broader debate between meeting commitments to improve conditions for migrants or retreating towards restrictions in response to electoral pressure from the Right," the study concludes.
"Labour protection, egalitarianism and social solidarity in managing migration has become a common dilemma for social democratic parties in an increasingly liberalised global economy."
The article, 'Immigration and Albanese's labour party: a social democratic approach?
