Migrant women come to Australia with high hopes but their husbands’ careers often take precedence. Farjana Mahbuba spoke to Bangladeshi Muslim women, finding stories of isolation and under employment.
A fast-growing population – 50% bigger than it was in 1990 – is causing, directly or indirectly, all of Australia’s serious environmental problems. These impacts must be central to decision-making.
Australia’s debates about migration tend to focus too much on numbers, and not enough on who we choose. Accepting 30,000 more skilled permanent workers is a good move – but there’s more to be done.
Defining skill shortage by lists of occupations is inflexible for a rapidly changing labour market. Australia needs a different approach to organise its temporary skilled migration programs.
Having international students in Australia gives us a head start in the global race to attract skilled migrants. COVID border closures that halved their numbers could have very long-term costs.
Adam Graycar, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University and George Tan, Charles Darwin University
Australia has traditionally only offered permanent residence to skilled migrants. That might have to change, as countries like Japan are already showing.
While skilled migration can help fill short-term gaps, Australia needs a more sustainable, long-term approach to skills matching and development to make the most of the people who are already here.
Anna Boucher, University of Sydney and Robert Breunig, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Australia’s population growth is expected to be stagnant over the next two years, due largely to decreased immigration. This won’t lead to a quick economic recovery.
Australia will extend the time students, graduates and skilled workers from Hong Kong can stay in the country. But it is not clear what “pathways to permanent residency” really means.
Many skilled migrants in South Australia have found themselves in a classic Catch-22 situation – they can’t get local experience because they don’t have local experience.
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Capital city populations are growing twice as fast as the rest of Australia, because of the employment and business opportunities and lifestyle on offer to both new migrants and long-term residents.
In the past, house building matched high immigration. Construction has increased, particularly in Sydney, but needs to make up the backlog of a decade of undersupply.
Dan Himbrechts/AAP
Australian governments are faced with a choice: make the difficult decisions to fix planning systems so more houses can be built, or tap the brakes on Australia’s migrant intake.
Up to 40% of recent immigrants in Australia are overeducated, making it hard for them to find suitable employment.
Joel Carrett/AAP
Many US voters appear to believe that deporting illegal immigrants would boost job opportunities and wages for US workers. But economic modelling suggests different conclusions.
Brexit campaigners argue an Australian-style skilled migration system would limit migration and benefit the UK economy.
Reuters/Stefan Rousseau
If it wins, Leave would strip European Union citizens of the automatic right to live and work in the UK in favour of an Australian-style “points-test” system for skilled workers.
These documents have become less sought after among the ranks of the world’s highly skilled migrants.
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The United States has always been known as a nation of immigrants and a top destination for scientists and other highly skilled professionals. That ability to attract the world’s most educated and innovative…