Many papers are full of the latest population figures suggesting that the number of Romanians and Bulgarians arriving in the UK to work has increased by a third over the past year. This is almost universally…
Migrants have become coal mine canaries, warning of future employment troubles.
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Labour spokesman Chris Bryant’s speech on immigration calling on companies to take on more British young people came days after news there had been a leap in zero-hour contracts, a type of contract used…
Australia’s population is forecast to reach 35 million by 2050, meaning Australia Day citizenship celebrations could get even bigger. What is the current ‘face’ of our nation?
AAP/Lucas Coch
Welcome to the **The Conversation Election 2013 State of the Nation* essays. These articles by leading experts in their field provide an in-depth look at the key policy challenges affecting Australia as…
Nothing on the box? The Home Office is providing a new source of entertainment.
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In the week that saw the British press rightly condemning the use of Twitter to send violent threats to several women, the Home Office started to use the social media site to publicise operations to carry…
Finding happiness is about more than making money.
Rui Vieira/PA
People who move to wealthier countries surely expect that migration will lead them to a better life – but new research suggests that economic migrants are unlikely to achieve greater happiness in their…
The Home Office recently published a sensible and thorough look at the local impact of migration. Did you read about it? You certainly won’t have in the Mail or the Telegraph, who apparently read an entirely…
From White Australia onwards, have the attitudes of Australian society and the government on migration and asylum really changed over time?
EPA/Stringer
For a nation largely comprised of “boat people”, asylum has generated the most debate, and at times hysteria, of all immigration matters in Australia. Is this due to what multiculturalism academic Ghassan…
How many MPs? Don’t rely on the citizenship test for an answer - you’ll fail.
PA Wire
When I took the UK citizenship test in 2009, I got the number of MPs in the House of Commons wrong, not because I didn’t know the answer, but because the Home Office didn’t. Preparing for the test was…
It doesn’t matter how much multiculturalism contributes to the economy if your values say it’s bad for Britain.
PA/Stephen Dempsey
How far do facts and evidence get us in public debates and policy formulation on immigration? And how far should they take us? Data on migration and its social and economic impact are of course vital for…
The changing face of Australia was on display this week after a new report listed India and China as providing more permanent migrants to Australia than the UK.
AAP/David Crosling
The face of Australia is changing - and it starts at our borders. Whereas Australia’s migrant population once hailed largely from a European background - think of the “Ten Pound Pom” in the post-World…
They’re going thataway: David Cameron delivers a speech on immigration at the University of Suffolk, March 2013.
Paul Rogers/The Times/PA Wire/Press Association Images
Foundation essay: Welcome to the first in a series of articles marking the launch of The Conversation in the UK. Our foundation essays are longer than our usual comment and analysis articles and take a…
The failure of the entire political class to stress the positive contribution of migrants is taking us back to the 1950s.
Cathal McNaughton/PA
If you listen to UKIP, you could be forgiven for thinking migrants are coming to Britain to access our foolishly generous welfare benefits and care nothing for integration. But that’s simply not true…
Life’s a gas: Nigel Farage enjoying UKIP’s success in the local council elections.
Chris Radburn/PA Wire
On the surface, the recent surge in support for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) suggests an urgent need to reform Britain’s relations with the European Union. But polls tell a different story. The best…
With our population set to top 23 million, how have we got here, and what is the future of sustainable population growth in Australia?
Brad Jward
Australia’s population reaches 23 million today according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) online population clock. How do they know it’s today? They don’t really. The clock provides an estimate…
Changes to 457 visas by the Gillard government has divided political and public opinion in Australia.
AAP/Lukas Coch
The current public debate over temporary employment 457 visa holders has thrown a spotlight on a major shift in Australia’s migration program. Historical context Prior to the introduction of the Temporary…
Australian prime minister Julia Gillard and New Zealand prime minister John Key met for bilateral talks in February 2013 to mark 30 years of close economic relations between the two countries.
Ross Setford/AAP
There are more than 600,000 New Zealand citizens in Australia, around 500,000 of whom were born in New Zealand. Prior to 2001, the Australian and New Zealand governments allowed citizens to move freely…
Not many people get to see what goes on behind the barbed wired fences of immigration detention centres. Marianne Evers was one of the few who decided to speak out about her work in Nauru. Unsurprisingly…
President Obama has skilfully identified immigration as an issue that Republicans will struggle with.
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For an American president, the first inaugural address sets the stage for the four years to follow. The second inaugural address, on the other hand, focuses on a much longer legacy. Barack Obama’s speech…
Professor of International Migration and Forced Displacement and Director of the Institute for Research into International Migration and Superdiversity, University of Birmingham