People should not be surprised that an international student “coached at a modern Australian university becomes convinced that Australia is racist and also a planet heating and people oppressing colonialist and capitalist menace enjoying a white privilege” according to last week’s The Bolt Report on Sky News.
Conservative commentator Andrew Bolt’s comments were prompted by a clip of an international student from Queensland University of Technology speaking at a protest rally. The ‘crime’ committed by the international student was saying they had learned two things from their time in Australia (I’ve paraphrased and removed the profanity):
- Racism is everywhere in Australian society
- We need to smash the system and build a society that’s worth living in
In response, Bolt argued that the student’s views challenge a “common excuse for flooding our universities with 800,000 students from overseas”. The ‘excuse’ he is referring to, to paraphrase, is that when international students return home, they do so as ambassadors of Australia.
Fellow Sky News commentator Rowan Dean went further, claiming that “basically all we’re doing is exporting, selling places in very comfortable Australian cities to people who in my opinion do not deserve the benefits of this country.”
Universities didn’t escape Dean’s wrath, describing them as “cesspits of left-wing indoctrination” that should either be shut down or defunded. At one point Rowan also perpetuates the myth that international students take places of domestic students, saying “Presumably, she’s paying money to attend one of our universities. I don’t know whether that means someone else is missing out on a place”.
Bolt concluded: “I think universities should be rethinking what they teach kids if we’re going to be sending hundreds of thousands of foreign students back to their countries with a really jaded view of what Australia is”.
My own response to the clip was a deep sadness that this was the experience of the QUT student. I didn’t assume it reflected the views of every international student in Australia, but I did reflect on my long-held belief that we need to ask whether we are delivering on the promise we make to international students.
When Bolt devotes a segment to international students, it’s easy to dismiss it as talkback outrage from a fringe element. But that would be a mistake. By the end of one day online, the clip had 65,000 views and around 1600 comments, and after six days it had 95,000 views and more than 2100 comments. The comments are overwhelmingly on Bolt’s side. Many more would have watched the segment live or read the corresponding Herald Sun article.
The reach of Bolt’s segment also reflects a wider sentiment in the community. The Australian reported the outcomes of a special Newspoll on immigration last week which found that almost two-thirds of Australians want fewer immigrants coming to the country. And of the 64 per cent who want fewer immigrants, 39 per cent want ‘a lot fewer’.
Despite decades of hosting international students in Australia, the views amplified by Bolt and Dean demonstrate that not everyone in our community believes that international education makes a positive contribution to our society. It’s a reminder of the ongoing need to earn and maintain the sector’s social licence.
While it’s unlikely that our sector will ever change the minds of a Bolt or a Dean, that isn’t really the point. What matters is that we engage beyond our own circles, listening, explaining, building confidence in the values that underpin international education in Australia. At its best, international education enriches communities, builds global understanding, and reflects the kind of country I think we aspire to be. That’s the conversation worth having.
The segment can be viewed here.
