In an astounding display of hyperbole and misrepresentation a conservative commentator has spewed opinion all over right-wing media about the AHA’s confrontational ad on policies to cut migrant visas.
News24, the rebranded phoenix of Sky News, had National Conservative Institute adviser and founder of Migration Watch Australia Jordan Knight pen an opinion piece on the new ad published by the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) on social media to spotlight how changes to migration policy could reshape Australia’s workforce.
The Knight began with a demonstration of his grip on the situation, blaming the “tired and worn out cringe” QHA for the message, which is said to be pushing the interests of ‘big business’.
In a climate of public support for lower migration levels, National CEO Stephen Ferguson simply stresses government must consider how reductions can be achieved without creating further workforce challenges.
He and the AHA are urging all political parties to recognise the contribution skilled migrants and working holidaymakers make to Australia’s workforce, particularly in regional areas.
Knight claims the advert has caused quite a stir, accumulating millions of views on social media as it “went mega-viral” – but he adjudicates the success was “not for the best reasons”.
The work whinges of ‘hyperbolic scenarios’ of bartenders, baristas, aged care workers – some roles commonly filled by migrant workers – suddenly dropping tools and leaving, versus the reality of ending their employment when their current visa actually expires.
Supposedly the AHA ad declares the evacuation will bring about “immediate chaos” as Australia “grinds to a halt”.
Responding to PubTIC enquiry, Ferguson says he read the article with interest.
“No publican would take his comments seriously,” he states.
“The position of pubs is simple: they always want to hire Australians first.
“However, if there are not Australians willing and able to do the work, they want to use overseas workers to plug the gaps.”
Knight opines about the good ol’ days, when “many Australians saw a lift in living standards” – during COVID. That, he muses, saw wages lift and job opportunities become plentiful.
The pandemic did force thousands of migrants to leave the country. In the following years many industries suffered severe under-employment, including hospitality.
Late 2021 the Federal government softened the rules to allow vaccinated visa workers entry again, in an essential move to help cover the shortfall.
And 2022 saw the country experience the highest inflation in decades, peaking at 7.83 per cent.
“He says that businesses didn’t need migration during COVID,” notes Ferguson. “Someone should remind Mr Knight that during COVID, most businesses were shut.”
Wielding his extensive knowledge of economics Knight poses the problem is low wages, opining that Aussies “haven’t had a decent inflation-adjusted pay rise in decades” and that in real terms pay rates have “actually gone backwards, to 2011 levels”.
The minimum wage in this country was $15 per hour in 2011. Adjusted for inflation (including a hefty 8.6 per cent inflation-driven increase in FY24) this rate would be $21.74 now. Yet the actual minimum wage in 2025 was $24.95 – 15 per cent higher.
Furthermore, Australia is ranked #5 in the world for minimum wage rate, behind only Luxembourg, Ireland, UK and Germany. For perspective, the USA is ranked #16.
This flawed claim is the basis for accusing the AHA of protecting their rich cronies, out of fear that “wages will skyrocket”. Taking inflation with them.
“Good luck to him if ever he buys a pub,” offers Ferguson.
The diatribe goes so far as to lament a man in the ad, who it’s assessed is ‘worn out’, reputedly with “bags under his eyes, unkempt hair and willing to do anything to improve his living standards”.
Apparently, the solution is to have this and other “proper representation[s] of Australians today” pick fruit and work in aged care, which it’s assured they would do if offered “the right wages”.
With an apparent lack of irony Knight accuses “vested interest” and big business of having dominated the immigration debate for too long, and the AHA (or whomever suits the narrative) of openly calling for continued “mass immigration at the expense of Australian living standards”.
For its part, the AHA says its immediate priorities are tackling government decisions to slow visa processing for skilled hospitality workers, essential to the industry, and for working holiday makers, who fill many roles in less populated areas.
“We do not have any views on what net migration numbers should be, or what should happen in visa categories unrelated to hospitality,” clarifies Ferguson.
Also on the radar is the move to cut over 40k Working Holiday Makers, who play a practical role by working in remote and regional areas, where Australian workers may not be willing or able.
“We just want ‘productive migration’ where we can’t find an Australian willing and able to do the job.”
Clearly championing the often ill-informed stance that migrants deprive Australian workers of jobs and residences, social media images suggest the author is amongst the knock-about battlers struggling to climb the social ladder and escape Sydney’s economically disadvantaged eastern suburbs.
“I will take Mr Knight seriously the day I see him cleaning a pub on an early Sunday morning, lugging bananas on a farm in Queensland in January, making a bed in an accommodation hotel, or wiping an old persons bottom in a nursing home,” quips Ferguson.
