Democracy Sausage: Population panic
Demographer Liz Allen and migration expert Alan Gamlen are talking migration and population, and the fear-based discourse that often surrounds it.
Last week we saw an attempt at rushing through immigration legislation, but creating a sense of panic around immigration and population issues has long been a staple of the political playbook. So why is it effective?
Where does the common sense lay in how our political class handle the complexities of this debate?
And, as we are busy arguing about borders and immigration, what are the key social trends that are missed?
On this episode of Democracy Sausage, demographer Liz Allen and migration expert Alan Gamlen join Mark Kenny to talk ‘population panics’ and immigration politics.
Alan Gamlen is the Director of the Migration Hub at the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance.
Liz Allen is a demographer and social researcher at the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods.
Mark Kenny is a Professor at the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the University after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times.
Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to democracysausage@anu.edu.au.
Top image: An intersection at George Street, Sydney. Photo: Wang Jui-Lin/shutterstock.com
Featured experts
You may also like
Democracy Sausage: Antidote to the far right
This week, Mark and Marija are joined by Oscar Kaspi-Crutchett, research organiser at the Victorian Trades Hall Council and author of the new report Antidote.
Democracy Sausage: Angertainment
Ed Coper, author of Angertainment, joins Mark and Marija to unpack how social media algorithms have weaponised our ancient neurochemistry, why the internet's promise of a global village became a gladiatorial arena, and whether anyone can still win politics by appealing to hope.
Democracy Sausage: Two Teals, One Ticket
Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender join Mark and Marija from Parliament House to discuss the launch of Community Strong Australia, the logic (and the irony) behind it, and whether teal voters will buy a party that insists it isn't one.