Okay, so I kind of suck at geography and numbers, so bear with me here (and please correct me if I’m wrong).
So I got these images from the BBC’s awesome page about population growth. In case you aren’t aware, Australia is having a few, um, “issues” with refugees and immigrants at the moment. In fact, we’ve been having those “issues” for quite a while now, despite the fact that almost every Australian resident at least has ancestors who came to Australia from somewhere else. For instance, my dad came to Australia on a boat (legally, may I add) as a teenager, my maternal grandfather came to Australia from Liverpool, and my maternal grandmother’s ancestry is German. My ancestry is not unusual in Australia. But still, the Liberals (note that “Liberals” are Australia’s conservative political party…I know, it’s confusing) keep on with their “stop the boat people” slogans. Hell, so does Labour party. Illegal immigration is, of course, a problem, but there seems to be a common idea in Australia that we don’t have enough room for more asylum seekers. But let’s take a look at the real facts.
According to the BBC, Australia takes 26 new immigrants every hour. But if you look at other countries - say, the United States, for example - you’ll see that other rates of immigration are far higher. Plus, the population of Australia is far lower.
But the U.S. simply has more room than Australia, right? America has over 50 states and territories whereas Australia has only seven. But Australia is the 6th largest country in the world, with the U.S. being the 3rd or 4th (it’s disputed because of issues with China’s territories). I mean, Australia takes up almost 8,000,000 square kilometres while America takes up almost 10,000,000. That’s…not an overwhelmingly huge difference when you think about Monaco, which takes up about 2 square kilometres. The United States’ population density is 32 per square kilometre. Australia’s is THREE. That isn’t a typo. Three compared with 32.
I know there’s more issues than the ones I’ve discussed here, but my point is that I think we ought to consider the refugee “crisis” more logically. And can we please stop using the term “boat people”? These people are not terrible comic book super-villains with boats as heads and the power to sneak illegally into countries. They’re human beings.