Published Nov 12 2021

‘What Happens Next?’: Why Do Migrants Matter?

Susan
Carland
Academic, author and social commentator
Sharon pickering
Vice-Chancellor and President, Monash University
Claudio labanca
Lecturer, Department of Economics
Rebecca wickes
Professor, Criminology; Director, Monash Migration and Inclusion Centre
Marie segrave
Professor of Criminology

There’s no doubt about it: Migration has shaped and changed Australia. The country’s history is marked by a series of migrations – the British, the Chinese, the Greeks, the Italians. We’re a nation largely built on the shoulders of those who came here seeking a better life, but we’re still wrestling with what that means for our modern identity.

Watch: The Australian identity debate

In the first of this two-part series, What Happens Next? host Dr Susan Carland asks some of Australia’s most knowledgeable and sought-after commentators on migration and inclusion about the policies and attitudes shaping society’s approach to immigration.

She sits down with Sharon Pickering, Monash University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) & Senior Vice President, who points out that migration is not a thing of the past – the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on immigration will have a long tail for Australia.

Labour economist Claudio Labanca provides insight into the ways immigration can affect employment for native-born workers.

Criminologists Rebecca Wickes and Marie Segrave of the Monash Migration and Inclusion Centre discuss the morality of Australia’s treatment of migrants and refugees, and the benefits of living in one of the most diverse countries in the world.

“I think what's really interesting is that we go through parts of our lives thinking that we know what migration looks like. But what we find is relatively quickly, we look in the rearview mirror and we go, “Wow, actually it was more than that. It meant a lot more to us as a nation.” I think we often fail to recognise the migrations of the moment.”

Sharon Pickering

If you’re enjoying the show, don’t forget to subscribe on your favourite podcast app, and rate or review What Happens Next? to help listeners like yourself discover it.

Listen on Apple Podcasts

 
 
 
 

Listen to more What Happens Next? podcast episodes

About the Authors

  • Susan carland

    Director, Bachelor of Global Studies, and Lecturer, School of Language, Literature, Cultures and Linguistics

    Susan's research and teaching specialties focus on gender, sociology, contemporary Australia, terrorism, and Islam in the modern world. Susan hosted the “Assumptions” series on ABC’s Radio National, and was named one of the 20 Most Influential Australian Female Voices in 2012 by The Age.

  • Sharon pickering

    Vice-Chancellor and President, Monash University

    Sharon is Vice-Chancellor and President, Monash University. She is an internationally recognised expert in criminology, refugees and trafficking who has written extensively on irregular border crossing with a focus on gender and human rights. She is the Founder and Director of the Border Crossing Observatory – an innovative virtual research centre across 12 universities, led by Monash and driven centrally by a collaboration between Monash, Oxford and Oslo universities. Sharon leads a series of Australian Research Council projects focusing on the intersections of security and migration, deportation, and police and community responses to Prejudice Motivated Crimes.

  • Claudio labanca

    Lecturer, Department of Economics

    research falls at the intersection of labor economics and public economics and it covers a variety of topics, including wage and productivity differentials across firms, the effects of taxation on the supply of labor and the impact of migration on local labor markets. In his work he pays particular attention to the role played by the interaction between worker and firm behavior in shaping demand and supply of labor, wages and productivity.

  • Rebecca wickes

    Professor, Criminology; Director, Monash Migration and Inclusion Centre

    Rebecca is an Associate Professor in Criminology and the Director for the Monash Migration and Inclusion Centre at the School of Social Sciences, Monash University. She is the lead investigator of the Australian Community Capacity Study, a multi-million, multisite, longitudinal study of place. Dr Wickes’ research focuses on physical and demographic changes in urban communities and their influence on social relationships, inclusion and the concentration of social problems, in particular crime, social exclusion and public disorder.

  • Marie segrave

    Professor of Criminology, School of Social Sciences

    Marie is a criminologist whose work into human trafficking, migrant labour exploitation, women prisoners and policing challenges the assumptions that drive legislation and policy in Australia and internationally. Marie’s research focuses on the intersection of regulation, exploitation and vulnerability. Her goal is to raise awareness and to help create more effective policies that have better outcomes for individuals and for society in general.

Other stories you might like