Australia’s Immigration Debate Is Reshaping Its Politics

Mark Krikorian; Jordan Knight

By Mark Krikorian and Jordan Knight on July 9, 2026

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Summary

In the latest episode of the Parsing Immigration Policy podcast, Executive Director Mark Krikorian speaks with Jordan Knight, founder of Migration Watch Australia, about how record immigration levels are reshaping Australia’s politics and public debate.

After experiencing net negative migration during the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia saw housing costs stabilize and pressure on public services ease. But in 2023, the government admitted an unprecedented 737,000 migrants into a nation of just 27 million people. Knight explains how the resulting strain on housing affordability, homelessness, infrastructure, and public services has transformed immigration into one of Australia's defining political issues.

The discussion explores the rapid rise of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party, which has gained momentum by advocating for significantly lower immigration levels and questioning Australia’s decades-long embrace of multiculturalism over assimilation. Knight also examines the changing positions of Australia’s major political parties, growing public skepticism toward historically high legal immigration (skilled and unskilled), the expansion of foreign student programs, and the cultural impact of high immigration levels.

As Australia prepares for its next federal election in two years, Knight discusses whether mounting public concern over immigration will translate into electoral gains for One Nation and reshape the country’s political landscape.

In closing, Krikorian discusses the Trump administration’s expanding interior enforcement efforts. As Border Czar Tom Homan has noted in recent media appearances, ICE is now making more than 2,000 arrests a day. While large numbers of those arrested have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, increasing numbers of ordinary illegal aliens are also being taken into custody. Krikorian argues that sustained worksite enforcement will be essential if the president’s promise of dramatic reduction of the illegal population is to be met.