Before weighing into the immigration debate, spend a night in hospital

October 18, 2026 — 12:30pm

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It’s time for a serious reality check.

Anyone trying to weigh the so-called “immigration debate” should spend some time in an Australian hospital.

Immigration is being used cynically as a political wedge by those harking after a long-gone monoculture without regard for facts or practical consequences.

I recently spent several days in hospital where my experience before, during and after an operation demonstrated how deluded and dangerous this low-grade politics is. Any healthcare experience is a reminder that more than half the Australian population was born overseas or has at least one parent born overseas. My blood samples were taken days before by technicians of Nepalese and Indian heritage. The taxi driver who turned up at 5.40am to take me to hospital was a cheerful bloke from Delhi who took me straight to the correct entrance in a sprawl of medical facilities.

I’m sick of immigration being blamed for problems it doesn’t cause

Ross GittinsEconomics Editor

I was prepared for my operation by a nurse of Nepalese origin. Then I was put under by an alert anaesthetist from India who’d rung me in advance to check on a mistake I’d made in my paperwork.

The surgery was carried out by an excellent doctor of Pakistani origin, who explained carefully and clearly before the operation what would be done, and why. Over the next five days I was cared for by nurses whose families were from India, Nepal,........

© Brisbane Times