Submission to the Joint Standing Committee inquiry into migration in regional Australia (original) (raw)
Related papers
2003
Australia is facing the prospect of population decline for the first time since European settlement. Natural increase will be negative by the third decade of this century. Emigration is running at 50,000 persons each year. This puts a heavy onus upon immigration if our population is to expand at all in our medium and long-term future. But Australia has long been an immigrant country. Migration has been in many ways the story of Australia and the making of the nation. As a consequence there is broad bi-partisan political support for immigration continuing to play an important role in national economic and social development. But public endorsement of this continuing role does require guarantees that immigration be seen to be of benefit for all Australians.
The Regional Migration-Development Nexus in Australia: What Migration? Whose Development?
Frontiers in Sociology, 2021
Both regional resettlement of refugees, and the attraction of different kinds of migrant labor to regional areas, have been significant trends in Australia’s recent migration policies. Using the concept of the migration-development nexus, we address important questions about the nature and scope of development these different policies aim to promote, and achieve. We examine the intersection of policies and initiatives implemented to encourage and support refugee settlement and regional migration in Australia with the perspectives of regionally settled migrants and refugees on their regional migration outcomes. We argue that recent government policies, and multi-stakeholder initiatives aimed at regional migration and/or settlement, cast migrants as differential contributors to regional development, useful either in terms of their skills (skilled migrants) or their labor (backpackers, seasonal workers, refugees). The co-presence of different groups of migrants in regional locations is...
Journal of Economic and Social Policy, 2014
Skilled migration has long been at the forefront of policies for engendering population and regional economic growth in developed nations like Australia. Indeed a rapid growth in the size of the skilled migrant intake during past thirty years has seen skilled migration visa numbers outstrip the combined permanent intake from other migration streams. The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) and State Specific Regional Migration (SSRM) schemes have been enacted and progressively altered in order to attract skilled migrants to regional areas of Australia. Nevertheless, population and economic growth are becoming increasingly concentrated into regional hotspots, particularly across the north of the country, raising questions about the efficacy of these programs to address skill needs in industries outside the resource sector, where a spatiallydistributed demand for skilled workers is emerging. In light of overall pessimism in existing literature which points to skilled migrant 'leakages' from regional Australia to larger cities, this study aims to provide an up-todate assessment of the contributions of the RSMS and SSMS programs for attracting and retaining skilled migrants and their families to the Northern Territory of Australia. We conducted online surveys with recent migrants to the jurisdiction through a combination of open and closed questions. The results provide positive indications about the demographic, labour force and retention contributions of the programs with high rates of retention evident overall and demographic contributions including a female-biased migrant cohort and high rates of partnering. From a policy perspective, our findings suggest that skilled migrants are contributing to population stability in the face of high population turnover and an increasing male bias across the north of Australia. Nevertheless, the study reminds regional areas that future growth and sustainability will require concerted and innovative approaches to planning and development as global competition for skilled migrants increases.
Australian Population Studies
Background Recent concerns about population growth and its consequences in Sydney and Melbourne have added momentum to the debate on ways to achieve a more even geographic distribution of population. However, there is little contemporary evidence about the impact of regionally-focused immigration policies in delivering positive migrant outcomes and easing pressures in major cities.Aims The aim of this paper is to compare migration, employment and settlement outcomes between permanent and temporary skilled migrants to South Australia (SA) as well as the factors influencing migrants’ decisions to move into and out of the State. Data and methods Data in this paper draws on the South Australian General Skilled Migrant survey of State-sponsored skilled migrants conducted by The University of Adelaide in 2015. Results Lifestyle and employment factors were important in decisions to come to, stay or leave SA. Permanent migrants were more likely to choose SA as a destination because it was p...
Migrant and Refugee Retention in Regional Australia at the Intersection of Structure and Agency
Journal of International Migration and Integration, 2023
This article examines the question of migrant and refugee retention in small and medium-sized towns referred to as 'regional towns' in Australia as a problem at the intersection of structure and agency in migration and settlement processes. Regional settlement pathways typically occur in the context of business interests in a reliable labour supply, government efforts of migration management and, importantly, migrants' and refugees' socially embedded life courses that are shaped by aspirations, opportunities and constraints. Rather than reducing the question of retention to one of migrant and refugee choice, this article explores the question whether people with migration backgrounds remain in regional locations through the conceptual lens of structuration and situated learning. Based on an analysis of key policies that have shaped regional migration and settlement in Australia and an analysis of qualitative interviews with migrants in different visa categories in regional Victoria, conducted over the last ten years, the article will explore three key factors influencing retention: migration policies, employment experiences in the context of settlement and migrants and refugees' situated knowledge emerging from these experiences over time. In conclusion, I will argue that unpacking the policy quandary of migrant and refugee retention sociologically can contribute to advancing both an understanding of mobility and immobility as integral to migration processes and the development of sustainable regional migration policies.
Motivations for retention and mobility: Pathways of skilled migrants in regional Victoria, Australia
Since the 1990s, programmes designed to attract international skilled migrants to work and live in regional areas have been a major theme of Australian immigration policy. The success of these programmes depends not only on attracting skilled migrants to regional areas, but also on retaining them within the regions into the longer term. This article argues that residential satisfaction, and specifi cally economic opportunity, is important in retaining skilled migrants in regional Australia. The research is based on surveys with skilled migrants to regional Victoria who were subject to the State Specifi c Regional Migration scheme. The satisfaction levels of these immigrants were tested for three satisfaction indices: Community attachment and satisfaction, lifestyle satisfaction and economic and workplace satisfaction. Economic and workplace satisfaction were revealed as being a signifi cant infl uence on the settlement decision-making process of this study sample. In addition, the opportunities for fulfi lling lifestyle and cultural practices and perceptions of secondary and tertiary education facilities emerged as key concerns of the respondents. Finally, this article discusses some policy implications in relation to this programme successfully retaining skilled immigrants.
Boese, M (2010) Challenging Current Policy Rationales of Regionalising Immigration
Recent Australian immigration policies have shown a trend to promoting regional settlement, through strengthening the role of employers and state governments in steering migrants to areas of labour demand and through dispersing refugee settlement to different regional sites. In relation to migrants such policies are aimed primarily at responding to demographic and economic concerns, while political concerns with over-stretched settlement services in some metropolitan locations play a role in the dispersal of refugees. This paper reviews recent regionalization initiatives with a focus on Victoria in the context of other immigration-related policies with the aim to explore the underlying rationales of regional settlement policies and their limitations. Drawing on a preliminary analysis of research on the ARC Linkage Project ‘Visible Refugees and Migrants in Regional and Rural Australia’, I will discuss the interrelated individual, social and structural factors that impact on regional settlement outcomes, and challenge the economic rationale underpinning current government attempts at regionalizing immigration.
Planning for Welcoming & Inclusive Communities: Guidelines for regional growth
2020
These guidelines are designed to help regional and remote communities—in partnership with service providers, development authorities and the three tiers of government—to attract, retain and support migrants so that they may flourish in Australia.1Regional migration can stimulate economic growth and revitalise communities, while offering new migrants opportunities to integrate into Australian society. However, not all regional destinations are the same. Like cities, regional areas have diverse community, social and economic profiles. This is why a place-based, community driven approach to migration and settlement – that considers the unique characteristics of each regional location – is critical. This will give local communities and migrants every chance to enjoy economic development and social cohesion. The Monash Migration and Inclusion Centre (MMIC) and Welcoming Cities have developed this resource to help communities assess the readiness of local stakeholders to welcome new arriv...
RESETTLING VISIBLE MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES IN RURAL AND REGIONAL AUSTRALIA
2014
This report presents the key findings and policy implications of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project Resettling Visible Migrants and Refugees in Rural and Regional Australia, conducted by staff in the School of Social and Political Sciences at The University of Melbourne between February 2009 and May 2013, in collaboration with industry partners, the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) and the Victorian Government Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship (OMAC). The project explored the interrelated social, economic and political factors that drive and shape the regional and rural settlement experiences of recently arrived, visible migrants and refugees: their sense of identity and belonging; their patterns and pathways of employment; the ways in which local communities respond and adapt to new arrivals; and the effectiveness of government resettlement and other policies at federal, state and local levels. Extending established findings in the Australian and international literature on the regional settlement of migrant and refugee, the project considered settlement factors which have previously been underexplored: • the perspectives of both migrants and refugees; • the significance of pre-arrival experiences; • local planning and coordination arrangements, including the often overlooked role of local government; • the interface between federal, state and local government to facilitate settlement; • support services, including funded activities and the role played by NGOs and volunteers; • employment experiences and pathways; • retention and attraction of former migrants and refugees in rural and regional sites; and • the interrelationship of visibility, identity and belonging. Drawing on primary research and an extensive national and international literature and policy review conducted for the project, this report provides a multi-scalar snapshot of regional settlement in Australia over a three year period, with an empirical focus on the experiences of settlement in six regional and rural sites and two metropolitan locations in Victoria. Our research findings indicate an eagerness of local communities, settlement stakeholders and newly arrived migrants and refugees to contribute to the continuing success of rural and regional settlement. Their experiences indicate the scope and some of the limitations to regional and rural settlement of recently arrived people from migrant and refugee backgrounds. They show that the policy of directing settlement to non-metropolitan areas has potential to work under certain conditions but is likely to fail unless local stakeholders jump in where resources for support are limited. The diversity of locations included in this research has allowed identification of distinct models of settlement, understood both as the practice of former migrants and refugees and a process assisted by funded and also unfunded local stakeholders, from settlement services staff to volunteers and even some employers