BY PATRICIA CORCORAN & ARUN PRADHAN
The immediate measure to demand of "our" government is the unconditional right of entry and residence for all those who come here — an open door.
Upon arrival, immigrants should be given equal access to social and health services, as well as free English language classes and other services necessary for equal participation in society.
Correspondingly, an unconditional right of residence (and citizenship if they so choose) should be immediately granted to all those already living here, regardless of whether they are "illegals" or not.
Nationalists of both the liberal and conservative type argue that an open door policy undermines national sovereignty, that immigration policy is basically about a people's right to choose who should be admitted into the country.
But this accusation can stick only if the underlying assumption is that immigrants "takeover" a country by numbers alone — the vile slander of the racists and xenophobes.
More importantly, "our" ruling class rules more than just this country. An open door policy is about squarely putting the onus of population displacement abroad onto the people who cause it.
Our duty is to the victims of their injustices, if and when they choose to come here. This is also vital in breaking down the hold of nationalist chauvinism among white Australian-born workers, which forms a major obstacle to the building of a socialist movement in this country.
Such a policy, an open door to all who wish to come here, is the only consistently internationalist stance which places the rights of people to live without fear or dire poverty above the "rights" of a tiny elite to keep the world at bay.