When non-Muslims say Islam is not compatible with civilisation, I always ask: Which part? The universities Islam built? The sciences it advanced? The cities it developed? The knowledge it preserved? History is a stubborn thing.

🚨Migrants Power Australia’s Essential Workforce — The Facts Behind the Immigration Debate Australia’s immigration debate is often dominated by fear, blame and political slogans. But new workforce figures show a very different reality: overseas-born workers are deeply embedded in the essential services Australians rely on every day. Across healthcare, care work, construction and agriculture, migrant workers make up a major share of the workforce. These are not abstract numbers. These are the doctors treating patients, nurses working in hospitals, carers supporting older Australians, childcare workers helping families, builders constructing homes and farm workers keeping food supply chains moving. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data and government workforce analysis, overseas-born workers make up a significant proportion of key essential roles. The figures include 57 per cent of GPs, 47 per cent of surgeons, 43 per cent of nurses, 40 per cent of aged and disability carers, 37 per cent of child carers, 37 per cent of plasterers, 28 per cent of building labourers and 52 per cent of farm workers. The message is clear: migrants are not separate from Australia’s economy. They are part of the foundation holding many essential services together. This is especially important in healthcare. Australia is already facing pressure across hospitals, general practice clinics and aged-care services. In many regional areas, overseas-born doctors, nurses and carers are not simply filling gaps — they are helping keep entire communities connected to basic healthcare. The same is true in agriculture. If more than half of farm workers are overseas-born, then Australia’s food system is directly connected to migration. Every debate about migration should also ask who is growing, picking, packing and delivering the food Australians rely on. Construction tells another important story. Australia is in the middle of a housing shortage, yet building more homes requires workers. Migrants are part of the construction workforce needed to deliver housing, infrastructure and regional development. Cutting migration without a serious workforce plan could make existing shortages worse, not better. This does not mean immigration policy should never be debated. Housing, infrastructure, wages, training and public services all matter. But the debate must be honest. Blaming migrants for every pressure in the system ignores the fact that migrants are also helping keep that system running. The real issue is policy failure. Australia needs better housing planning, stronger worker protections, investment in training, improved regional services and migration settings that are fair, sustainable and properly managed. Anti-immigration politics often turns complex problems into a simple blame game. Housing shortages are blamed on migrants, even though they are also caused by years of underbuilding, planning failures, investor incentives and infrastructure gaps. Wage pressure is blamed on foreign workers, even though weak bargaining power, insecure work and corporate profit-taking also play major roles. Migrants are often blamed for pressure in the system while simultaneously being relied upon to support that same system. That contradiction sits at the heart of Australia’s immigration debate. Australia deserves a better conversation. Migrants are not just numbers in a political argument. They are workers, taxpayers, small business owners, families, neighbours and community members. They care for Australians, build for Australians, grow food for Australians and help keep regional towns alive. A serious immigration debate should be based on facts, not fear.

Iain Dale left stunned by calm caller on LBC A composed caller named Mike told Iain Dale on LBC that Britain “will remain almost ungovernable until we have mass deportations”. The exchange was striking because the caller spoke in measured tones, clearly articulating a view held by millions of people across the country. Yet Iain struggled to process it, repeatedly falling back on “you can’t do that”. Mike highlighted the obvious disconnect: the British public have consistently voted for lower immigration, only for politicians to deliver record levels instead. “There’s a massive disconnect between the political class and the people of this country,” he said. “We never gave any consent to this and there’s certainly no mandate for the scale of immigration we’ve seen.” When Iain pushed back, saying you can’t deport people here perfectly legally, the caller was unflinching: Caller: “You mean end indefinite leave to remain?” Iain: “You can do that for future people but you can’t do that for people who have already got it. That would be outrageous.” Caller: “Yeah you can. Of course you can.” Iain: “From a fairness point of view, you can’t suddenly tell people who’ve got a perfect legal right to be here that we’re changing the rules now…” Caller: “You can, Iain.” Iain: “Well you can do that but is that really the kind of country you want to live in?” Caller: “Yes!” Iain continued to argue that you can’t “take it out on perfectly legal, law-abiding people”, clearly unable to grasp how widespread this frustration has become. The public didn’t always feel this way. Years of politicians ignoring the public on immigration have shifted attitudes dramatically. As the caller made clear, people never voted for this transformation and the consequences of fixing it now rest with those who created the problem. Well worth a listen. The gap between Westminster and the rest of the country has rarely been clearer.