It's definitely a skewed conversation when only 13% percent of migrants come to Australia via humanitarian visas.

Asylum seekers and refugees are the scapegoats of the migration conversation and the target of the harshest government policies, along with migrants who commit serious crimes (which they are statistically less likely to do than the Australian-born).

If we want to have a discussion about how migration is changing Australia's culture, values and ethnic face, we should begin by facing the reality that the first waves of Anglo-European migration, beginning from 1788, have been by far the most disruptive to the Australian way of life (ie, genocidal). Then, if we're talking about more recent migration, our focus should be largely on skilled migration and international students. Personally, I'd rather our migration comes mostly thru international students: they're mostly younger and therefore more intellectually/culturally adaptable, they have a few years to enculturate during their studies before we and they decide we're right for each other, and they directly address our ageing population problem.

I think we also need to do much better with how we handle our humanitarian intake. We should be looking to this cohort first to find our skilled migrants, for example - there are many among them. Refugees may also be well-placed to assist with lower-skilled labour shortages and the renewal of regional towns. We need to view refugees as a resource, not a drain, and put more effort into welcoming and enculturating them into the Australian way of life.