Recently, our capital and major regional cities had protests against immigration. As the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader said, many good people were at those protests. But there were also people using the gatherings to demonise immigrants. Does Australia need to have a sensible discussion about immigration levels? Yes. Do we need to give a voice to Nazi white supremacist types? No.

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Yes, migration to Australia adds pressure to the housing market. However, let's not treat it as the chief culprit of the housing crisis, because to do so would overlook the bigger picture and, worse, it would ignore the vital role migrants play in keeping the country running.

The core of the housing issue in Australia is a long-term failure of federal governments, both Liberal and Labor, to match housing supply with population growth, compounded by financial policies that favour investors. But the housing shortage predates today's migration levels. For decades, Australia has not built enough homes to keep pace with population growth. Planning approvals are slow, zoning laws are........

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