Farrell’s Australia-EU Mobility Deal Could See a Return of Migrants from the West
Politics is loud and divisive when it wants to block, ban or punish. It is much quieter when it has the chance to build something novel and ambitious.
Right now, while MPs argue about laws “against” this or that group, a rare opportunity is sitting on the table: a proposed mobility agreement between Australia and the European Union.
If ratified, it would allow Australians to live, work, and study across Europe for up to four years and give Europeans (including Italians) the same access to Australia, without requiring a pre-arranged job offer.
It would mean a structured mobility scheme between societies that share the same civic foundations: the rule of law, equality before the law, representative government and individual freedoms. These Western traditions helped shape Australia into the nation it is today.
Our courts, parliaments, universities and civic culture all grew from this inheritance. So did the original vision of multiculturalism: not the coexistence of isolated communities, but the integration of different peoples around shared values.
The agreement is part of the long-running EU-Australia free trade talks and is being actively advanced by Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell, in close collaboration with European Commission negotiators.
For young Australians, it offers more than short-term visas or casual work, it opens pathways for meaningful international experience, career-building, and skills development. For businesses, it provides access to skilled workers trained to comparable international standards, helping fill labour shortages in key sectors, including trades, engineering and professional services.
For established migrant communities such as Italians and Greeks, it strengthens integration, ensuring new arrivals arrive not as strangers to our values, but as partners who have proven their meaningful contribution to this country.
Europe remains the cultural and legal source from which Australia grew. Reconnecting in a practical, modern way is not nostalgia; it is strategy. The deal also serves as a “mobility sweetener” to finalise a long-stalled EU-Australia free trade agreement, positioning Australia as a globally connected, competitive nation.
Politicians often speak of jobs, skills, youth opportunity, and global relevance. This agreement delivers all four without slogans, culture-war theatrics, or empty promises. If it fails, it will not be because it lacks merit. It will be because leaders chose noise over vision, fear over confidence.
The best policies are written to move a nation forward, to connect, empower, and create tangible opportunity. This is one of those rare moments.
