The role of immigration in Australia's population future

The fact is, highly skilled people are extremely valuable and highly mobile - they will go to whatever job and whatever country offers them the best overall returns on their skills. As such we have to be more innovative and apply new techniques to remain competitive in the race for this highly attractive labour.

The scale of this challenge means that we can’t continue to be blinkered by policy that encompasses only permanent resettlement. If we were, we would be doing this nation a great disservice. It is for this reason that we are so firmly embracing the enormous opportunities provided by long-term skilled temporary migration.

In the global economy of which Australia is a part, these individuals make a major contribution to Australia’s international competitiveness. They bring with them new ideas, skills, technology, understanding and contacts.

To take advantage of these opportunities this Government has taken advice from my Business Advisory Panel and has developed a range of streamlined long-term temporary migration entry arrangements. These are rated amongst the most effective arrangements in the world for attracting what is a highly mobile and discriminating workforce.

And we are succeeding. The number of these skilled temporary entrants has been rising steadily over recent years. 33,000 long-term skilled temporary resident business visas were granted in 1998-99 – almost the same amount as the total number of skilled permanent migration visas issued for the same period. Long-term temporary movements now make-up around 50 per cent of net overseas migration, the key measure of the contribution of immigration to population growth.

The 33,000 highly skilled temporary entrants that came to Australia in 1998-99, sponsored by companies in Australia, represent six times the number sponsored by business for permanent entry (5,600).

Long-term temporary migration will become the touchstone for migration’s international future. As Australia does not impose numeric controls on these temporary entry categories, their volume is likely to continue to rise.

As I said to the Business Council of Australia in November 2000, the days when big programs were underpinned with very little thought, and it was an article of faith that sheer numbers of migrants were good for this nation, are gone. We now live in a far more sophisticated world and we need to match new realities with new thinking and new partnerships. In this world, academic debate about a formal Population Policy misses the point and seems quaintly old-fashioned.

Rather than a return to the past, I believe most Australians want an economically and socially vibrant Australia that is sustainable into the future. Immigration can play a vital role in achieving that future.