Hello and happy Friday.
Immigration and population news is below. Please share this memo with peers.
Farm work conundrum
The Government announced another expansion in the subclass 462 work and holiday visa scheme this week. This time the cap for Thai visitors - currently at 500 and fully filled for the past few years - will rise to 2,000.
There appears to be a commitment to expand this scheme as the Government faces pressure from the farm lobby for a dedicated farm visa.
Thailand wasn’t even on the reported list of countries targeted for expansion earlier this year.
This week another significant event occurred in the policy debate. Prominent news and current affairs show The Project reported on issues around migrants picking fruit.
A complex web of policy is becoming entrenched as one of the most compelling debates in politics right now. The issues include:
worker exploitation,
labour hire regulation,
migration enforcement,
farm viability,
food prices,
political rhetoric,
foreign aid,
and Australian culture.
I’m keen to stay on top of this in coming years. What would you suggest I focus on? Is there anyone you know I should speak to? Just reply to this email.
People of the Pacific
A migration-related artwork by New Zealand-based Tongan artist John Vea was covered by Teresa Tan from ABC:
The performance artwork, titled If I pick your fruit, will you put mine back? — a joint commission by Liveworks and 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art — aims to create a discourse around the politics, ethics, visibility and invisibility of imported Pacific labourers in Australia and New Zealand.
What else happened
Policy
Ben Knight at ABC explored how the high cost of parent visas is leaving migrant families without support. He spoke to Archana Koorthy.
The Department of Home Affairs said Australian citizenship processing increased by 177% between June and September.
Katie Burgess at the Canberra Times reported ($) that $80 million has already been spent on the new visa processing platform.
Robert Milliken in Inside Story visited Dubbo to provide local insights into regional migration:
Both came from big cities in India, and wanted to steer clear of them in Australia. At first, Dubbo seemed a challenge for Rio. “I’d never lived in a country town and had no friends or job here,” she says. But she landed a position with a real estate firm “within minutes” of arriving. “It wasn’t as hard as I thought.” Since they arrived, Dubbo’s Indian community has grown. Many work in health services, others at Fletchers. Rio and Jerose plan to stay. They’ve bought a house, and their first child is due. “For the future generation, there are many opportunities here,” says Rio. “We’ve invested in Dubbo.”
The Examiner investigated ($) why skilled migrants leave Launceston. The Advocate covered ($) Premier Will Hodgman’s comments on the issue:
Affordable housing and a lack of employment opportunities and services have been identified as barriers for the settlement of skilled and humanitarian migrants in Tasmania.
The Northern Daily Leader reported ($) how drought-affected towns are to benefit from the regional migration push.
Bernard Salt wrote in The Australian about the impact of immigration on Australia and impending challenges:
The great challenge for Australia during the 2020s will be to ensure that these vast — globally unparalleled — levels of immigration do not lead to a breakdown in social cohesion. But rather, that they build a united, prosperous society that takes the best bits and pieces from the new arrivals and fashions a contemporary — but always tolerant — fusion kind of Australian culture.
The Australian Children’s Education & Care Authority, (ACECQA), will become an authority for assessing applications for the new regional sponsored visa.
People
Il Globo interviewed space engineer Flavia Tata Nardini, who moved from Rome to Adelaide in 2012.
Neos Kosmos spoke to Greek migrant Eleni Nikoloudi:
Nine years have passed since the day Eleni Nikoloudi and her husband Panagiotis, along with their two children, decided to leave their homeland, a small town in Serres seeking a better future in Australia.
Population
The ABC reported of campaigns in Melbourne in opposition to the construction of large multi-storey developments.
The world
Asian immigration is transforming Australia and the country will soon become "more Asian than European", Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has predicted.
The Correspondent explored ($) 10 questions that explain the European Union’s migration policy.
The UK Telegraph covered the story of Adyan Bhuiyan, the boy from Geelong born to Bangladeshi parents. His father’s permanent visa application was rejected due to young Adyan’s minor disability. The family is appealing to the minister.
Newsroom in New Zealand looked at how a classification change could allow aged care workers to get permanent Kiwi visas. It also covered problems with ANZSCO, the job classification system used on both sides of the Tasman:
Andrew Hancock, principal analyst of Data Standards and Design at Stats NZ, said the latest update of ANZSCO was driven by concerns - some recorded since 2006 - that up to a third of the job classifications needed to be looked at again.
SBS Dateline reported of a migrant “boot camp” in Italy, and its similarities with an old Australian scheme.
Helen Davidson at The Guardian covered the Canadians sponsoring refugees stuck in Pacific processing.
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Catch you next week.
Jack