A TikTok video on Australia’s Indian migrant agreement has gone viral, gaining almost half a million views and sparked a heated debate about immigration.
The short clip by Migration Watch Australia warns that the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s deal means “open borders for India into Australia” while immigration is already at record-high levels under Labor.
The May 2023 deal signed by Mr Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi allows for five-year student visas for Indians, eight-year temporary work visas for Indian graduates, unlimited work rights for spouses, and three-month visitor visas for family or business purposes, with no caps on numbers.
Another scheme will allow 3,000 Indian graduates to work and stay in Australia for up to two years and then apply for permanent skilled visas.
“What this means for you is, the housing crisis is about to get much much worse before it gets better,” the video’s narrator states.
“Young people in particular are getting squeezed hard, and the only people it’s benefiting are big businesses and universities.”
The clip attracted lots of comments from users furious at Labor and complaining about the deal, and led to a discussion about the effects of immigration on the economy.
“People here are barely surviving with the cost of living and housing,” read one popular comment.
Another replied: “As bad it as sounds it will be good for the economy”.
“Not just your homes but wages will drop and the job market will get hard,” said a third.
The Sustainable Australia Party said the deal confirmed that Mr Albanese stands for an “Excessively Big Australia”.
“The whole Agreement is going to lead to massive population growth in Australia. At a minimum, it places a diplomatic barrier in the way of any future contraction of immigration to sustainable levels,” a spokesperson said.
“Australians were not consulted about this gifting of our sovereignty, with only peanuts in return.”
Indians are the fastest-growing immigrant group in Australia, and according to the 2021 Census there are more than 784,000 people with Indian ancestry – 3.1% of the population – a 400% increase over the past 20 years.
@migrationwatchaustralia Albo has just signed the Australia-India Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement, and the media hasn’t said a word about it. Here’s what it means for you. #auspol #australia #housingcrisis #rentalcrisis #india ♬ original sound – Migration Watch Australia
