There have been many times over the years where I’ve found the not-so-dulcet tones of Dave Hughes irritating. A bit whiney, a bit repetitive, but at least the content was always innocuous enough.
Until recently, that is. Because it appears the comedian has quickly slipped into his Mark Latham era to launch an unhinged attack on hard-working, tax-paying permanent residents in Australia.
During an impassioned, morning television spray, emboldened by Nine’s Karl Stefanovic, Hughes took aim at migration and questioned why permanent residents should be able to access government support measures while not being Australian citizens.
“We are sick of them stealing our money and for first homebuyers, I heard Albo on the radio yesterday and he said they don’t have to be citizens to take advantage of the first homebuyers scheme, because some countries don’t allow dual citizenship, so basically there are over 50,000 people bidding against Australians at auctions, who don’t want to give up citizenship of their home country and he has given them our money to buy houses in Australia.
“I am happy for you to stay here, or if you want to go home you can go home, but you are not getting our money to buy houses here … that’s insane.”
The comments may have been cheered on by some viewers frustrated by the state of the economy, but they were also deeply irresponsible. Because at a moment when Australia is becoming increasingly fractured and anxious, the last thing we need is more public figures feeding the idea that migrants are somehow to blame for the challenges facing the country.
For starters, permanent residents are not outsiders freeloading off the system. They are people who live here, work here, pay taxes here and contribute to Australian society every single day. Many have spent years building lives, businesses and communities in this country.
They help build our infrastructure, staff our hospitals, care for our elderly and, if we’re just worried about the dollars, they contribute billions to the economy.
Contrary to some of the rhetoric floating around online, permanent residents cannot vote in Australian federal elections. In fact, millions of migrants who call Australia home are excluded from the democratic process until they become citizens. Many do eventually take that route. But for some, it’s not that straightforward.
Countries including India and China — two of Australia’s largest migrant source countries — do not generally permit dual citizenship.
It’s also worth remembering that migrants from India and China have helped shape modern Australia in profound ways. They have strengthened our economy and contributed (for generations) to the multicultural society that most Australians rightly celebrate.
What makes Hughes’ intervention particularly frustrating is the timing.
Across Western democracies, we’re seeing a surge in politicians and commentators willing to exploit economic anxiety by directing public anger towards migrants and refugees. Because, this approach is easier than tackling the structural causes of housing shortages or investing in infrastructure. It’s easier than having difficult conversations about tax reform, productivity, planning systems or decades of policy failures.
And Australians? Frankly we scare easier than most.
Recent polling has shown growing support for One Nation and Pauline Hanson, whose political brand has long relied on blaming migrants and refugees for a range of social and economic challenges.
Yet even as support grows, the party continues to struggle to articulate coherent policy solutions. Last week, One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce was forced to concede a housing policy answer he gave during a television appearance on Sky News (in which he left the studio to call colleagues for clarity on the party’s position) was “less than perfect”. Andrew Bolt, the interviewer, put it perfectly when he said, “One Nation is literally making policy up as it goes along”.
That’s another reason Dave Hughes’ latest rant is so egregious. We’re not talking about some fringe social media commentator shaking his fist at the clouds. Hughes is one of Australia’s most recognisable entertainers with a huge platform many politicians would envy.
The fact he’s now using this platform to hound migrants for getting an unfair advantage, reinforces a narrative that someone else is responsible for our problems.
Someone else took your housing, someone else got your government support, and someone else is to blame. It might offer a simple answer to complex problems, but it’s almost always wrong.
The housing crisis we’re facing today is the result of decades of bad policy choices made by governments of all political persuasions not to build more housing at the rate that population was growing. We could have done it, but we ignored the warning signs.
Blaming migrants might draw praise from an anxious audience looking for a scapegoat. But it sure as hell won’t build a single home.