Immigration cuts in Australia-Myth or reality?

The coalition government in Australia led by Scott Morrison had proposed a 30,000 cut in Australia’s migrant intake in March this year. The motives behind this proposal were:

• To reduce congestion in cities like Sydney and Melbourne where the growing population is creating pressure on the infrastructure and quality of life.
• To encourage skilled migrants to settle in regional areas

To meet these objectives, the Australian government announced an immigration plan that proposed 23,000 new visas for skilled workers in a bid to encourage them to migrate to regional areas. This is a marked increase compared to the 8,534 visas granted last year.

To motivate skilled migrants to work in regional areas, they will become eligible for permanent residency if they work for three years in a regional area.

The other proposal is to reduce the migration ceiling from 190,000 to 160,000 over the next four years.

The proposal for immigration cuts is to reduce the immigrant population in cities like Sydney which is the fourth highest in the world and promote the development of regional areas with the help of migrants.

But has there been any significant reduction in the migrant intake in Australia? The answer is no. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicate the net long-term arrivals have only increased touching 300,000 in August this year. This is almost double of the 43- year average of 156,000 according to the ABS.

The net overseas migrant population has also increased. From 40,000 in 1983, it stands at 300,00 today.

These figures indicate that the proposed cuts in the migration intake has had no significant impact on the actual migration figures. The immigration numbers are high according to OECD, next only to Switzerland and Luxembourg. Immigrants provide a boost to the economy and this is probably the reason their number continues to be on the higher side.

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