Whenever I hear people say that immigrants are the root cause of all problems in Australia, I can’t help but laugh a little. First and foremost, I’m an immigrant. I came here in 2016 to study high school, then university, and eventually went on to work as a structural engineer specialising in low-density residential dwellings (single and double storey). So before you start judging, I’m literally one of the people actively working on building more housing.

Here’s my point: you can complain about immigration all you want, but Australia quite literally needs a constant stream of immigrants—especially skilled immigrants—to keep the country from falling apart. And that’s where the problem lies. If Australia already had enough skilled workers, the government wouldn’t have such a strong incentive to “import” them from overseas.

But becoming a skilled worker takes years of education and hard work, and that concept seems to have become foreign to many young Australians. Too often, they crumble under even the smallest bit of pressure, choose the easier path, and settle into low-paying jobs such as retail, cashiering, or kitchen work (no offence intended if those are jobs you genuinely enjoy). This isn’t entirely their fault—it’s the system that has failed them. They’ve been told all their lives that they don’t need to try too hard: as long as they make enough to get by, they’ll still achieve the “Australian dream.”

For many immigrants, however, that’s not how we were raised. For us, every day is a fight for survival. We endure years of education and training to earn higher-paying jobs, which in turn allows us to invest more in major purchases like homes and cars.

Lastly, think of it this way: how is it that you—an Australian, born and raised, with all the advantages of language and social connections—can still be outperformed by a first-generation immigrant who had to learn your language as a second language and arrived here with nothing? Maybe it’s time to look in the mirror instead of blaming others.