August 6, 2026 — 8:30amSteven Theodoridis is adamant: if Tony Burke goes ahead with limiting family visa applications, it’ll “wreck him”.Dressed in a Bulldogs jersey, the manager of Mastika Gelato & Cafe said that it was families that needed to stay together and be brought to Australia together, as long as it was “direct family”.Mastika Gelato and Dessert Bar manager Steven Theodoridis said “People are happier with their families around them, they work harder, and their families help their businesses … we need to be protecting families not breaking them up.”Sitthixay Ditthavong“So no extended family like cousins or in-laws. But wives, husbands, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers are OK.“People are happier with their families around them, they work harder, and their families help their businesses. I believe in families, and we need to be protecting families not breaking them up.”Community concern comes after Burke’s speech announcing a significant immigration crackdown was delayed after cabinet ministers raised questions about the political backlash and unresolved economic costs.The policy announcement was due to focus on firmer controls of the migration system by stopping people taking advantage of it through manoeuvres such as overstaying or using the family system.There is already a heavy backlog of demand for family visas as part of the permanent visa stream, with more than 100,000 people facing a 17-month wait for partner visas.Theodoridis’ shop is in the heart of Belmore, a key suburb in Burke’s electorate of Watson, which also takes in heavily multicultural areas such as Lakemba, Bankstown and Punchbowl.These are areas with historically high levels of immigration, with a mix of recent migrants alongside families that have called the area home for generations. And Burke has depended on these residents to maintain his vice-like grip on his seat since he won it in 2004.Burke has dominated the seat, often winning it at a canter and with double-figure margins, and very rarely facing any real threat. But his insistence on forging ahead with the immigration policy threatens his support among the many prominent migrant groups in the area.Lebanese Muslim Association general secretary Gamel Khier said the organisation was worried about the potential impacts of the policy.Burwood Road barber Ali Alekdeh said “If we don’t have immigrants, there will be no health workers, no labourers. Immigrants built this country”.Sitthixay Ditthavong“The LMA is worried that minority communities will be severely impacted by these proposed reforms. Family migration is an important hope for many Australians with family overseas,” he said.Along Burwood Road, many businesses and residents expressed some doubts about the policy, with barber Ali Alekdeh adamant Burke was making a mistake.“If we don’t have immigrants, there will be no health workers, no labourers. Immigrants built this country, they are taxi drivers and Uber drivers. Who will be around? Hospitals will fall apart without immigrants.”Alekedeh insisted the system was working as intended and that a political focus on immigration was “a fake problem”.“They come here, they pay taxes, they buy houses, they do everything by the rules. What’s the problem? Pauline Hanson is just playing with his (Burke’s) head.”“It’s a bullshit issue. There’s never enough immigrants. They (the government) just need to relax.”He wasn’t alone in expressing concern at how the government’s clampdown would impact small businesses. Across the road, at newly opened restaurant Rusty’s, owner Melike Kaya said she struggled to hire workers.“I have tried to get local workers, it isn’t for the lack of trying. I tried, but the majority of the applicants aren’t locals. They’re recent migrants. They’ve come here looking for a better life, so what happens when that stops?”Kaya, a Liberal voter, was cooking a pasta sauce as she said she also felt that locals would likely be “upset” with Burke for pursuing the policy, and that it could change their vote.Owner of Rusty’s restaurant, Melike Kaya, says of Labor: “As a small business owner, I think that they make it harder and harder for us to actually thrive”.Sitthixay Ditthavong“They promise a whole bunch, and then I don’t see them deliver what they promise. And I think that, as a small business owner, I think that they make it harder and harder for us to actually thrive,” she said of Labor.“They don’t stick to their word.”She wasn’t alone in voicing her concern at the impact immigration was having, with another business owner saying “screening” needed to improve.The business owner, who asked to remain anonymous so she could speak freely, claimed migrants were exploiting the goodwill of the Australian government.“I’m a second-generation wog, and my parents built this country, and I hate what is happening to Australia,” she said. “People are coming here, and they aren’t assimilating, they isolate themselves and aren’t part of the community.“Australia needs to be respected as a country,” she went on. “Australia is a Christian country in the end, and we should be independent of other countries and their dramas.”“Labor needs to dig deeper into who they are bringing to this country. It hurts watching all this fall apart.”Mostafa Rachwani is a Parramatta reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously the Community Affairs reporter at Guardian Australia.Connect via email.From our partners