Australia to overhaul broken migration system

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A senior Australian official, Clare O’Neil, says the country is committed to overhauling its “broken” migration system.

O’Neil who is the Minister of Home Affairs declared this in a speech to a workforce summit on Wednesday.

According to her, Australia must shift away from “permanently temporary” migration. She added that the country must focus on making it easier for skilled workers to move to the country permanently.

She said, “Australia’s migration system is broken. It is unstrategic. It is complex, expensive and slow. It is not delivering for business for migrants or for our population.”

Net skilled permanent migration to Australia has stalled at approximately 30,000 annually for the past two decades.

While the number of visa holders in the country on a temporary basis has nearly doubled from one million in 2007 to 1.9 million.

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O’Neil said significant structural reform was needed to rebalance programmes, but it could take years to fix the system, making Australia an unattractive destination for migrants.

“It is relatively easy for a low-skill, temporary migrant to come to Australia, but difficult, slow and not particularly attractive for a high-skill, permanent migrant to come here.

“The government has identified international students as an untapped market, with many forced to leave after graduating from Australian universities.

She said around 50 percent of those who stay work in lower-skilled jobs than they are qualified for.

Xinhua/NAN

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