4 years ago
MORRISON GOVERNMENT CONGRATULATES ITSELF FOR REGIONAL MIGRATION BACKFLIP
SENATOR THE HON KRISTINA KENEALLY
The Morrison Government have been forced into an embarrassing backflip to allow international students and skilled migrants the opportunity to settle on the Gold Coast under the Government’s new regional migration plan.
Only a few weeks ago, the Morrison Government was adamant these changes couldn’t and wouldn’t be made before backflipping and congratulating themselves in newspapers across Australia today.
The Morrison Government originally considered the Gold Coast a “metropolitan” area – akin to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane – whilst designating Adelaide and Canberra with “regional” status.
“The classification of the Gold Coast as a metropolitan centre has not changed as a result of the Government’s announcement.” – David Coleman, 1 October 2019.
Today, they buckled under pressure from Labor, the higher education sector, Study Gold Coast, and the Gold Coast Bulletin.
This is yet another example of the disarray and dysfunction in the Morrison Government and Peter Dutton’s Department of Home Affairs.
These regional visas are due to be introduced in a few weeks and the Department is scrambling at the last minute to even define what a region is in Australia.
For a Government who likes to boast about people settling in the regions, it’s clear Peter Dutton’s incompetence and maladministration of the Department of Home Affairs – such as go-slow visa processing times and airplane arrivals facing exploitation here in Australia – has strangled regional migration.
In 2012-13 – the last year before Labor left office – over 20,000 people were granted visas under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme.
In 2017-18, after a steady decline on the Liberals’ watch, the scheme had its lowest numbers ever, with only 6000 people settled under the scheme.
Labor supports opportunities for people to settle in regional areas and the Government should be doing everything possible to make settling in regional communities an attractive option for potential migrants.
This includes ensuring there are jobs, adequate settlement services and proper investment in essentials in regional areas including health, education and infrastructure.
Of course, local workers should always be given the first shot at local jobs – particularly when regional unemployment, youth unemployment, and underemployment are at record highs.
Given the Prime Minister’s obsession of being loose with the truth, the facts about regional migration speak for themselves and today’s backflip only adds to his embarrassment
Only a few weeks ago, the Morrison Government was adamant these changes couldn’t and wouldn’t be made before backflipping and congratulating themselves in newspapers across Australia today.
The Morrison Government originally considered the Gold Coast a “metropolitan” area – akin to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane – whilst designating Adelaide and Canberra with “regional” status.
“The classification of the Gold Coast as a metropolitan centre has not changed as a result of the Government’s announcement.” – David Coleman, 1 October 2019.
Today, they buckled under pressure from Labor, the higher education sector, Study Gold Coast, and the Gold Coast Bulletin.
This is yet another example of the disarray and dysfunction in the Morrison Government and Peter Dutton’s Department of Home Affairs.
These regional visas are due to be introduced in a few weeks and the Department is scrambling at the last minute to even define what a region is in Australia.
For a Government who likes to boast about people settling in the regions, it’s clear Peter Dutton’s incompetence and maladministration of the Department of Home Affairs – such as go-slow visa processing times and airplane arrivals facing exploitation here in Australia – has strangled regional migration.
In 2012-13 – the last year before Labor left office – over 20,000 people were granted visas under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme.
In 2017-18, after a steady decline on the Liberals’ watch, the scheme had its lowest numbers ever, with only 6000 people settled under the scheme.
Labor supports opportunities for people to settle in regional areas and the Government should be doing everything possible to make settling in regional communities an attractive option for potential migrants.
This includes ensuring there are jobs, adequate settlement services and proper investment in essentials in regional areas including health, education and infrastructure.
Of course, local workers should always be given the first shot at local jobs – particularly when regional unemployment, youth unemployment, and underemployment are at record highs.
Given the Prime Minister’s obsession of being loose with the truth, the facts about regional migration speak for themselves and today’s backflip only adds to his embarrassment