The Productivity Commission's examination of a fees-based migrant entry system, in place of the current emphasis on skills and family reunion, will light up yet another hot button on the federal government's policy dashboard.
The idea that migrants might start being admitted to this country based on what they can pay, rather than on the skills they bring with them, is triggering a cool response from some employer groups - though the release of the commission's discussion paper on Friday caught many by surprise.
Australian Industry Group chief Innes Willox says skilled migrants should remain the primary source of new entrants. "There is a place for charging but we are also in a very contestable global market for the best and brightest and to put up more barriers would be a mistake" he told Fairfax Media.
Unsurprisingly, ethnic groups are also unhappy at any moves to water down the family reunion component of the migration program , which currently represents about a third of migrant intake.
They argue that the ability to reunite families is fundamental to the health and well-being - and therefore the productivity - of immigrants.
Chair of the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia, Joe Caputo, said he had yet to fully digest the commission's paper but that his members would be " very concerned" at any move to water down the family reunion provisions.
"There has been longstanding bipartisan support for family reunion in this country and it would be highly unfair to seek to introduce fees which would make it impossible for some to meet those fees" Mr Caputo said.
The ACTU is also chary of the idea.
President Ged Kearney told Fairfax that "it is not sophisticated policy to change our migration requirements to a system where entry is determined solely on an individual's wealth."
"Migration policy is complex and cannot be reduced to a single factor like price. We are concerned the Productivity Commission's inquiry is focused on allowing only those rich enough to migrate regardless of fulfilling the current requirements, including filling skills shortages".
As the Productivity Commission itself points out, Australia is - perhaps to an extent many of its own inhabitants don't fully appreciate - a "nation of migrants."
More than a quarter of Australians were born overseas and 43 per cent have at least one parent born overseas.
Over the years, the rationale for a relatively high migrant intake has evolved from the simple "populate or perish" rhetoric of the 1940's to a carefully balanced program where the emphasis is on recruiting skilled migrants but still with a significant component for family reunion migrants.
A recent parliamentary paper on Canberra's migration policies noted that since the Howard years there has been a steady prioritisation of skilled migration, with proportionally fewer family places made available.
Yet it pointed out that there were economic as well as social benefits to family reunion, even though such migrants tend to have lower English language skills.
"Family structures are particularly important in attracting or keeping skilled migrants - an issue of particular significance in regional areas" the paper noted.
Then there is the humanitarian and refugee component, currently around 14,000 of the 190,000 projected migrants for this year.
With political and natural calamities on the rise world- wide, it is hard to see how Australia could close its doors to any more of those who have the greatest need.
