It took four and a half years, thousands of dollars in fees and a certificate of good character from police in three countries to become a permanent resident of Australia. I’m one of 162,000 people who gained the right to live in the “l(fā)ucky country” last year. But as Australia’s population passed 25m last week, it has become clear not everyone is happy to call me, or my fellow new arrivals, neighbours.

Instead of celebrating a population milestone that bears testament to the country’s incredible economic success and high living standards, an increasingly vocal rightwing political minority and their “shock jock” cheerleaders warned about how migrants are clogging roads, hospitals and housing estates, and risk transporting a “European separatist multicultural model” Down Under.

Alan Tudge, Australia’s minister for multicultural affairs, complained that many new migrants cannot speak English and are not integrating as well as they have in the past. His solution is to bar us from the two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, to solve their traffic congestion problems.