Australia immigration must increase, report says
September 04 2009 by Rebekah Nahai
Australia Immigration Minister speaks out
A new report on skilled Australia immigration states that the Australian Federal Government plans to encourage up to 230,000 migrants to move to Australia every year for the next 40 years.
The report, ‘Select Skills: Principles for a New Migration Occupations in Demand List’, says Australian immigration must be maintained at high levels. The minimum annual migration intake recommended by the report is 150,000 people per year and the recommended cap is 230,000 annual Australian immigrants.
According to the report, this level of immigration is needed to compensate for an ageing workforce.
The suggested maximum of 230,000 Australian skilled migrants per year is close to last year’s record number of emigrants who made the move to Australia.
Senator Chris Evans, Australia’s Immigration Minister, commented earlier this week that recent changes to Australian skilled migration rules were helping to fill critical skill gaps.
He said: "A properly targeted migration program will ensure we have the right-sized and appropriately skilled labour force.”
The report emphasised the importance of attracting the right migrants, saying: "Within the framework, it will be important that those skilled migrants we choose are not only young and healthy, but also have a high level of education, language and skills.”
Andrew Metcalfe, Australia’s Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, yesterday informed the Australian and New Zealand School of Government conference in Canberra of his department’s long-term immigration plan.
He said: ''In terms of the future, we are trying to lift ourselves away from year-to-year decisions to a 50-year vision.”
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