​​I would like to acknowledge the Ngunnawal people, the traditional custodians of the land we are on.

I recognise and celebrate the diversity of First Nations peoples and their ongoing cultures and connections to the lands and waters of Australia.

I pay my respects to Ngunnawal Elders past and present, and extend those respects to any First Nations people here today.

I’d like to thank Professor Alan Gamlen, director of the ANU Migration Hub, and Lance Bonneau, the chief of mission A.I. of the International Organization for Migration Australia, for the invitation to be here today.

Alan’s leadership in this important space brings together some of the best minds across academia, policy and non-government organisations to better tackle the challenges that are part of the mass movement of people across the planet.

That’s no small task, and the government appreciates the insights that your research, studies, briefings, submissions and partnerships contribute into the national conversation around migration.

There is some great work and collaboration happening between Home Affairs and the Migration Hub through hosting a monthly webinar series where academics are able to engage and present to attendees across multiple government agencies.

This is a fantastic initiative as we continue to build a strong and cohesive working environment between academia and policy and one I hope continues to transform and thrive.

The best way to dispel myths is to counter it through the presentation of well-researched, carefully analysed and thoughtfully framed information – all delivered by a recognised and respected organisation. And the ANU’s Migration Hub certainly ticks all those boxes.

Misinformation and disinformation thrives in an information vacuum.

Look at how quickly social media streams are flooded with conspiracy theories within seconds of some dramatic event like the one that sparked recent riots in the UK, for example.

There have been tensions, too, within our own multicultural communities around events in the Middle East.

Uninformed or malicious intent, combined with the immediacy of social media, makes for a potent, unstable and highly combustible mix.

Social cohesion is vital in our multicultural society, and preserving and building on it is a very high priority for our government.

Of course, we want to welcome more people to join us each year from around the world. And it is impossible to tell an important story about modern Australia without talking about migration.

More than half of Australia’s citizens were born overseas, or have a parent born overseas. New Australians have come here from almost every part of the world — altogether, we identified with more than 300 different ancestries in the last Census.

We are a strong migrant nation. Together we have built the most prosperous, safe, cohesive country in the world — and every Australian is entitled to feel proud of that.

And they should be able to feel confident that we can tackle what’s coming in the difficult decades ahead, with the help of a Migration Strategy that will deliver the best results for the country.

The Parkinson Review that prompted the Migration Strategy found that our previous migration system was “broken”.

The review by Dr Martin Parkinson found it was a deliberate decision by the Coalition to neglect the system and that it was “so badly broken” it required a “10-year rebuild”.

The system had any number of inefficiencies and inequities that meant it was failing on many fronts, especially in terms of getting the right people with the right skills into Australia within reasonable timeframes.

We are determined to rectify the legacy of mismanagement left by the previous government, including an overwhelming visa backlog, shortcomings in international education, and widespread visa system abuses.

Our new Migration Strategy is bringing migration back to sustainable levels, ensuring we have the skills we need for the future and, ultimately, making sure the system is working in the interests of all Australians.

Our mission is clear: to build a migration system that earns the trust and confidence of our citizens and secures a safe and prosperous future for every Australian.

The Strategy also acknowledges Australia’s role in responding to the global humanitarian crisis, at a time where more than 100 million people are forcibly displaced and more than two million people are in urgent need of resettlement worldwide.

The Government is delivering a humanitarian program that provides refugees with certainty and security as they rebuild their lives in Australia and contribute to our economy and society.

In August last year, the Government announced that the number of people resettled in Australia’s Humanitarian Program would increase from 17,875 to 20,000 per year, and this is continuing.

As conflict and displacement situations around the world increase in scope, scale and complexity, it is critical that Australia continues to demonstrate our support and commitment to international responsibility — and to the globally displaced — in line with the objectives of the UNHCR’s Global Compact on Refugees.

We have been stepping up Australia’s engagement and leadership in this area. This includes the Global Refugee Forum and the Consultations on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways, or CRCP, as we work to advance UNHCR’s Third-Country Solutions for Refugees: Roadmap 2030. 

We’ve just completed our tenure as Co-Chair of the 2023-24 CRCP and, in line with Australia’s broader priorities for the 2023 Global Refugee Forum, our focus during that time was on working with other countries to establish and grow their refugee resettlement programs.

We are very pleased that we have a new role with Australia Chairing the Global Task Force on Refugee Labour Mobility from April 2024-2026. It will be a privilege for the government to lead work that reflects the Global Refugee Forum’s priorities and pledges.

And last month, I was pleased to speak at an event for the second anniversary of the initial arrivals of refugee households under the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP).

Following sign off by the former Coalition government, the Pilot started in July 2022, and the first refugees settled through CRISP arrived two years ago, in August 2022.

Refugees eligible for CRISP are referred to Australia by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, have been granted a Refugee category visa, are offshore and have no family links in Australia.

So it’s quite a journey for them, both in terms of distance and the complex challenges of settling in a new country — which is why CRISP is such an incredibly valuable initiative.

Refugees arriving through CRISP have access to the same government services as other refugees, such as income support, Medicare, the National Disability Insurance Scheme, employment support, the Adult Migrant English Program and the Settlement Engagement and Transition Support program.

However, CRISP participants are helped to settle during their first 12 months by trained and vetted volunteers, instead of Government-funded service providers.

Our government is committed to ensuring refugees successfully settle and integrate into the Australian community and make the most of their new lives and possibilities.

It’s important to note that the migration process doesn’t end when people land in Australia. In many ways, it’s just the end of the beginning and we have many options for support – including the CRISP initiative – for those who arrive here.

We need to continue to support our migrants and refugees in every way we can, especially those who are considered the most vulnerable and those who are facing the greatest challenges.

Being connected and listening to the community, through engagement with peak settlement organisations, service providers and people with lived experience, provides the Government with valuable insights and understanding. This helps us better design policies, programs and services to improve the settlement and integration outcomes for refugees and humanitarian entrants.

The government recently released our response to the Multicultural Framework Review (MFR), one of the biggest initiatives in this space and the deepest examination of our policy settings, services and programs in more than a generation.

I’m sure you are aware that the MFR panel provided recommendations for the government which covered core principles of connection, inclusion, identity and belonging.

These will play a fundamental role in helping prevent discrimination, promote equal opportunities and provide access to strong public services that will underpin Australia’s continued multicultural success.

The MFR panel’s process was extensive. They consulted more than 1430 individuals and 750 organisations and community groups in more than 200 events throughout Australia.

They also received 796 submissions through written, audio or video messages, including 126 in languages other than English. This was a new and innovative approach in listening and hearing from our highly valued multicultural community.

To complement the Government’s response to the MFR, it is committing $104 million, and that includes:

• $1.8 million to fund the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute to undertake an annual Multiculturalism in Focus research report
• $9.4 million to sustain the Community Liaison Officer Network, and funding to support increased regional engagement
• $7 million for translation services and in-language translated website content; and
• $85.8 million to flow directly to communities through the Modernised Multicultural Grants Program.

That program includes four streams:

• $70 million for infrastructure projects
• $9.8 million for grassroots communities
• $4 million for support of multicultural peak bodies; and
• $2 million for faith leadership training.
  

These initiatives will provide multicultural communities with more consistent funding and foster more certainty, and enabling organisations in that sector to implement longer-term initiatives for lasting outcomes.

And speaking of countering myths, perhaps the biggest of them all is that immigrants take the jobs of locals. I’m sure there are plenty in this room who could very easily disprove that.

Let’s demonstrate to the people we welcome to this country that they will be safe, respected, supported and offered every opportunity to realise their potential and thrive.

And I believe that with our new Migration Strategy — with its wide range of pathways, programs, support and services — we are living up to that commitment.

We haven’t wasted a day cleaning up the mess left by the former Government.

When coming to Government, we inherited a migration system that was broken, exposed to exploitation, and unprepared for the re-opening of borders.

The Migration Strategy is a commitment to restoring migration back to sustainable, normal levels.

And for all Australians, it means a better-planned migration system aiming to strengthen the community we live in and improve living standards.

Thank you.