Immigration reform: It’s a matter of skill

Reams and reams of Commonwealth government propaganda, from both sides of politics, remind us that permanent and temporary migration are key contributors to Australia's economic, demographic and social needs.

And the Department of Immigration & Citizenship[2], reminds us that it"will continue to contribute to the national debate on economic and population policy including [devising] a targeted Migration Program that responds to Australia's changing economic and social needs through (amongst other aims):

· Implements strategies to strengthen the economic, budgetary, cultural and social benefits from both permanent and temporary migration;

· Reviews and improve Australia's temporary entry arrangements to better meet the needs of business, education and tourism,and;

· Delivers the permanent Skilled Migration Program, which works effectively in conjunction with the domestic education and training agenda.

These statements regrettably ignore that a good slice of the migration pie, some 35%, is dedicated to non economic, non refugee migrants.

Putting aside the small refugee component, Australia's immigration program is made of two main parts: Cultural & Social Migration and Economic Migration.

Cultural & Social Migration

Bureaucratically speaking, the point of this part of the annual immigration program is to "develop and administer visa arrangements that further Australia's social, cultural and international relations."

Put simply, foreign nationals are invited to Australia to spend their money be they tourists, students or through sporting, community or religious exchanges. That said, the bulk of arrivals under this category were, and remain family reunions. Three out of four 'family' arrivals are partners of Australian citizens or permanent residents. The balance is children, parents, relatives or carers.

The economic benefit of these migrants is never assessed. But their cost isn't that hard to quantify. They can access the spectrum of social welfare programs offered by all levels of government. They are not subjected to determination if they are rich, young, educated, and innovative or if they have skills that are much sought after by Australian industries.

Economic migration