Immigration Needed if Australia Wants to Stay Competitive

Two key government advisers and the nation’s leading demographer have warned that the nation’s “big Australia” debate has now entered dangerous territory and pressed the case for higher immigration to keep the economy strong.

Peter McDonald, head of the Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute, said yesterday the current political discourse linking high immigration rates to inflated house prices and congestion in the big cities risked a damaging reversion to Hansonism.

Professor McDonald was backed by former key government adviser and population economist Glenn Withers, who said the tone of the debate had “the potential for becoming dangerous”, while Infrastructure Australia head Rod Eddington said he was in favour of a “robust immigration program”.

Business leaders yesterday warned of the risks of any move to use population pressures as a reason to scale back on immigration numbers, saying they were crucial to future economic growth.

Sir Rod, appointed by the Labor government to chair Infrastructure Australia, said: “I’m broadly in favour of a robust ongoing immigration program given that the hunt for talent is a global hunt and we want as many good people as we can sensibly fit in.

“(Migration has) been one of the reasons why Australia has succeeded in the past. We shouldn’t turn a blind eye to that fact.”

The full article is here, from The Australian.

Further Cuts To Immigration Quotas?

News reports today hint that Australia's New Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, will be breaking from her predecessor’s advocacy of a “Big Australia” flagging further cuts to immigration quotas.

In an interview with the Australian version of the Daily Telegraph News paper, Gillard said:

“Australia shouldn’t hurtle down the track towards a big population… We need to stop, take a breath and develop policies for a sustainable Australia.”

Gillard replaced Kevin Rudd last week after he recorded sharp falls in opinion polls ahead of a parliamentary election later this year. Rudd had rejoiced in the headcount growing at a rate four times China’s and double that of the United States.

With immigration running at 300,000 a year, the projections are that the continent would be home to 36 million by 2050, up from 22 million now.

As immigration accounts for over half of population growth, Gillard would have to cut back on annual quotas to halt runaway growth.

She said migrants could still come in to fill skill shortages but that she did not “want areas of Australia with 25 per cent youth unemployment because there are no jobs.”

Opposition Liberal Party leader Tony Abbott said Gillard, who arrived in Australia with her British parents at the age of 4, had fallen in behind Rudd’s “Big Australia” dictum just two months ago.

Abbott said the new Labor leader was adjusting her pronouncements to what opinion polling showed was popular. “She’ll give the public what they want to hear without giving them the policy to deliver it,” he said.

For every migrants sake, let’s hope that’s the case!

Skilled Visa Processing Priorities Change

Will this affect your application?

As noted in a previous article, Australia's Immigration Minister has announced changes to skilled visa processing priorities that will affect the application time for skilled visa applications.

As a result, applicants that have nominated an occupation listed on the Critical Skills List, and have also been nominated for that occupation by a State and Territory Government, will find that their application will be processed as a priority.

Conversely, those whose occupation is not on the Critical Skills List and who don’t have sponsorship from a State or Territory Government, should be aware that there might be a longer wait than they were perhaps expecting when their visa application was lodged.

Applicants for a subclass 175 (Skilled Independent) visa and those whose occupation is not on the Critical Skills List might consider seeking sponsorship from a State or Territory Government, if they wish to see their visa application processed to a decision sooner rather than later. An application for a subclass 175 visa can be moved to a subclass 176 (Skilled Sponsored) visa once suitable sponsorship has been obtained.

These new changes have been introduced as a way for State and Territory Governments to facilitate skilled migration in an effort to meet critical skills shortages in their jurisdictions.
Get the critical skills list here.

Engineers get priority for visa applications

Engineers applying for a visa to migrate to Australia will receive priority from Australian immigration.

The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has included the following engineering occupations on the new Critical Skills List (CSL) coming into effect on 1 January 2009.

2129-17 Engineer - Chemical
2124-11 Engineer - Civil
2125-11 Engineer - Electrical
2125-13 Engineer - Electronics
2126-11 Engineer - Mechanical
2127-11 Engineer - Mining

2126-13 Engineer - Production or Plant Engineer

From: tribuslingua.com.au

Moving stories

The Immigration Museum explores the stories of real people from all over the world who have migrated to Victoria.

Located in the Old Customs House in the heart of the city, the museum re-creates the real-life stories of coming to Australia with a rich mix of moving images, personal and community voices, memories and memorabilia.

From the reasons for making the journey, to the moment of arrival in a new country, and the impact on indigenous communities, these stories are sometimes sad, sometimes funny, but always engaging. The result is a thought-provoking and moving experience.

Now Showing:

• Station Pier, Melbourne Station Pier: gateway to a new life. Find out why this landmark has become such an evocative symbol of Victoria's immigration history.
  

• Leaving Home exhibition. What would it take to make you leave your homeland and travel thousands of miles to another country?
  

• Settlings exhibition. Immigrant stories and timeline is about us all - those who were here and those who came.

• Journeys of a Lifetime. No matter when they arrived, all immigrants are linked by the common experience of a journey.
  

• Customs gallery. The story of the Old Customs House and its importance to Victoria's economic growth. Immigrant processing at Sydney airpor

• Getting In. More than 9 million people have migrated to Australia since 1788.
  

The Immigration Museum is located in Melbourne's CBD, at: 400 Flinders Street, MELBOURNE, VIC, and is open: daily 10am - 5pm. Admission: Adults $6, Concessions and Children free entry.

For more details see their website:
http://museumvictoria.com.au/ImmigrationMuseum/

Immigration Helps Australia Grow

Recent figures show that the Australian population is growing at a strong rate, which can mainly be attributed to immigration

Recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that Australia's population is growing at its fastest rate in nearly 20 years. Records show that the number of people living in Australia has increased to 21.374 million as of June 30th this year. This is an increase of 359,000 (1.7 percent) from the previous year.

59 percent of the growth can be attributed directly to immigration, with the Government's successful migration program enabling more foreign nationals to live and work in Australia.

Western Australia still continues to record the fastest growth at 2.7 per cent. This is primarily due to the mining industry which has been central to the economic boom of the state over the last ten years.

Queensland and Northern Territory both recorded a 2.3 percent growth, while Victoria had 1.8 percent. ACT grew at 1.3 percent, South Australia and New South Wales had 1.1 percent, and Tasmania experienced a 1 percent growth.
From: www.future-concern.com

If you are interested in living and working in Australia, contact Bridge Migration for expert advice on visa eligibility and assessment.

Past, Present and Future: the cultural heritage of the Filipino Migrant

For an exhibition that celebrates Filipino culture and the contribution of Filipino migrants in South Australia don't miss 'Past, Present and Future: the cultural heritage of the Filipino Migrant' featuring costume, craft and mementos of life in the Philippines.

Running until 27th February 2009, the exhibition is housed in the historic remains of Adelaide’s Destitute Asylum in the city centre's, Migration Museum.

The Museum houses a number of permanent exhibitions on the immigration and settlement history of South Australia, and also hosts and develops a number of changing exhibitions and public programs. It is a place to explore South Australia’s history and cultural diversity, through the stories of individuals and communities.

The museum is located at : 82 Kintore Avenue, ADELAIDE SA 5000, and is open: 10am - 5pm Monday to Friday / 1pm - 5pm weekends and public holidays. Admission is Free.

For more details see their website:
http://www.history.sa.gov.au/migration/about.htm