This is one of several pages linking to information about the immigration and emigration policies and outcomes of specific countries, and implications for discussions of open borders.
Australia is a First World country in the Southern Hemisphere that is geographically isolated and very sparsely populated. Its population is about 23.5 million.
Australia is interested in the open borders context for many reasons:
- Henry Sherrell’s blog is worth following if you’re interested in Australia’s migration policy.
- The Trans-Tasman Travel Agreement effectively allows open borders between Australia and New Zealand for short-term travel, and makes it relatively easy for people in either country to obtain long-term residency in the other. This is an interesting instance of open borders between country pairs.
- Australia has been praised for having a friendly immigration policy for high-skilled immigrants.
- Australia’s policy towards refugees has met with considerable criticism. The Australian government has implemented a wide range of innovative measures to prevent potential refugees and asylees from landing on Australian soil. This includes the Pacific Solution implemented 2001-2007 and a more recent variant called the PNG solution.
Discussions of Australia in the context of open borders and migration:
- Skill Development and Regional Mobility: Lessons from the Australia-Pacific Technical College by Michael Clemens, Colum Graham, and Stephen Howes, May 1, 2014, on SSRN. The paper is discussed in the blog post Generating skilled migration? The Australian Pacific Technical College and labour mobility by Henry Sherrell, May 26, 2014.
- What does the future hold for asylees in Australia? by Michelangelo Landgrave, Open Borders: The Case, April 24, 2014. This discusses the Trans-Tasman Travel Agreement as well as Australia’s policy towards refugees and asylees.
- Who favors open borders? by Nathan Smith, Open Borders: The Case, December 3, 2012. Australia ranks #43 out of 48 countries in terms of how favorable public sentiment is to open borders.
- Closed borders kill people by John Lee, Open Borders: The Case, October 21, 2012.