I was genuinely shocked watching the recent interview involving Barnaby Joyce and discussions surrounding One Nation’s proposed migration and housing policies.
While much of the debate focused on whether permanent residents could be forced to sell homes they legally own, I believe the bigger issue is what these policies say about the value some politicians place on the people who have helped build and sustain our communities.
Here in Tamworth and across the New England region, our immigrant workforce is not a burden. They are a necessity.
Our hospitals rely on internationally trained doctors, nurses, specialists, aged care workers, cleaners and support staff. Our farms depend on migrant workers to plant, harvest and process produce. Local businesses rely on skilled migrants to fill critical workforce shortages. Our hospitality industry, construction sector, transport operators and countless small businesses would struggle to function without them.
Anyone who believes regional Australia can simply remove migrant workers from the equation has not been paying attention to the reality facing our communities.
For years, businesses across our region have advertised jobs they simply cannot fill.
Employers have repeatedly told governments that workforce shortages are one of the biggest barriers to growth. Rather than recognising this reality, policies that target migrants risk creating fear, uncertainty and division.
The people affected by these proposals are not faceless statistics. They are our neighbours. They are parents raising children in our schools. They volunteer in our sporting clubs. They shop in our local businesses. They pay taxes. They contribute to our economy. They call New England home.
What concerns me most is the message these policies send.
When politicians suggest that migrants are somehow responsible for housing shortages, cost-of-living pressures or other challenges facing Australia, they distract from the real issues. Housing affordability is a complex problem driven by supply shortages, infrastructure constraints, planning failures and decades of inadequate investment.
Blaming migrants may be politically convenient, but it does nothing to build a single new home or solve a single workforce shortage.
As an independent candidate, I believe regional communities deserve practical solutions rather than political scapegoats.
We should be investing in housing supply, supporting infrastructure development, improving access to health care and creating opportunities that allow regional communities to grow sustainably. We should be welcoming people who want to work hard, contribute and build a future in our region.
Tamworth’s success has always been built on people coming together from different backgrounds with a shared commitment to making our community stronger. That is one of our greatest strengths.
The people of New England should see proposals that target migrant workers for what they are: an attack on the workforce that helps keep our hospitals running, our businesses open, our farms productive and our communities thriving.
If we are serious about building a stronger future for regional Australia, we need policies that unite communities and address the real challenges we face—not policies that divide us and risk driving away the very people who help keep our region moving forward.
Vanessa Wilde is an Independent Candidate for Tamworth and a resident of the Tamworth region.
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