I was speaking to my neighbours recently – they are a retired couple in their late 60s who mentioned they bought their house in the 1980s for around $85,000. Their house has recently been valued and it’s now around $2 million. They are a fit couple who enjoy biking and travelling and they haven’t worked for a while now. They seem to be living the retirement dream. I often wonder if I could ever live like them. And then I look at my parents who are also in their 60s and still working and think, probably not.
The intergenerational warfare that’s currently occupying our media landscape doesn’t really apply to people like me and my parents. My parents weren’t the result of a post-World War 2 boom. We, their children, don’t neatly fit into the prescribed Gen X and Gen Y labels. We are first generation immigrants. By the time we arrived in this country the 90s had already begun and by the time my parents had scraped enough money to be able to buy property the really cheap properties had been snapped up.
"My parents do not have the capacity to help me buy a place"
My parents are still paying off their mortgage. For many Baby Boomers in this country who bought decades ago mortgages are a thing of the past. For their children one of the best ways of getting a foothold in this overpriced property market is to inherit property or as Malcolm Turnbull suggested have their parents shell out to help them buy a place. My parents do not have the capacity to help me buy a place – in fact I’m often left wondering if there will be a day when they will be mortgage-freem or will I have to take on their debt?
It’s not just property of course. When it comes to things like unpaid internships very few immigrants or children of first generation immigrants are in a place where they can commit to taking on such a role. Of course this is not just an issue specific only to immigrants, but one of class as well. If Malcolm Turnbull’s internship program rolls out, the fear is it will create a new working underclass where those from lower socio-economic backgrounds serve those who are able to pay $10,000 for a Mamamia internship.
"Our issues are largely dictated by the circumstances in which we or our parents arrived in this country"
The big difference is that many immigrants don’t only have to contend with class issues, but they also often face the double discrimination of racism. Immigrants to this day are discriminated against when renting property or getting a job – thus making it harder to reap the benefits enjoyed by white Australians from their generation.
My parents aren’t reaping the benefits that many of their generation who were born in Australia currently are. As a result, the benefits aren’t being passed down to their children. For many immigrants the struggles we face are perhaps not restricted by our date of birth: rather they are multi-generational. Our issues are largely dictated by the circumstances in which we or our parents arrived in this country and how well we succeeded in building a life here. That’s not to say that of course many haven’t succeeded against the odds. Their success gives hope to not only the younger generation but the older ones as well who are still working towards the Great Australian Dream.
Saman Shad is a freelance writer, playwright and writer for radio. She has contributed to the Guardian, The Independent, Essential Baby and SBS. She tweets from @muminprogress.
