Experts point out that if Australia is to cope with the immigration boom caused by international students, it is housing investment rather than infrastructure projects that require the most attention, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Australia has accepted five hundred and twenty five thousand students this year, up 12% from last year, media reports said last week.
Glen Searle, an emeritus associate professor at the University of Sydney`s School of Planning, said the federal government`s response to immigration so far had been "completely inadequate" and that government now had a "moral responsibility" to invest in immigration programs.
For international students, Glen says more students mean more affordable housing.
"there are already a lot of student accommodations, but not enough, and universities should spend a portion of their money on their own accommodation, and maybe they can use federal government funding," he said.
Statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released this week show that many of Australia`s newest immigrants are concentrated near university campuses and in urban centres in Melbourne and Sydney.
Between 2016 and 2017, Clayton, Melbourne`s southeastern region, attracted a lot of immigrants because of a Monash University, with Melbourne and Parramatta having more immigrants than here.
Monash Mayor Paul Klisaris said Australians complained about traffic congestion and the cost of living, but he did not want international students to be scapegoats. But he admitted that the arrival of large numbers of immigrants in Monash also had a lot of impact on the city district.
Australian Prime Minister Tam Po said that the increase in foreign students is an important factor in the growth of immigration. Earlier this month, he said: "Australia now has nearly two hundred thousand more students than it was a few years ago, which is one of the biggest factors contributing to the increase in immigration. So if you think there are more foreigners on the train and there are no seats, that`s why. "
The new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics provide insight into how fast some urban areas are changing.
Liz Allen, a demographer at the ANU Center for Social Research and methods, said infrastructure development had failed to keep pace with immigration plans over the past 20 years, and that the responsibility for the problem lay with politicians. "I hope you can think about it when you see the data. Don`t blame these immigrants, politicians should be responsible for it. "
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack is also in charge of managing population issues, and a spokesman said recently that the federal government was working with the state government to try to address the challenges posed by population growth.
"the population will continue to grow and traffic congestion will persist in the future, but we still have to make sure that people can travel home, school and work more quickly and safely, which is a key task for government."
The spokesman also said the federal government recently announced that it would allocate 5 billion yuan for the Melbourne Airport Railway and 80 million yuan for the Macquarie Park transportation hub at Macquarie University.
Sophie Arkoudis, associate professor of higher education at the University of Melbourne, says students prefer to stay in the city center because it provides a modern lifestyle and makes people more sense of security, but he points out that Australia can develop a stronger "hero culture".
"they have more sense of security in the center of the city and are able to integrate the international community. We have a lot of discussion about what universities can do for foreign students, but they can actually participate in the wider community and develop a culture of the protagonists who are welcome to Melbourne or Sydney. "
The value of education exports reached 28 billion yuan between 2016 and 2017, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Preventing international students from being exploited at work and providing safe and affordable housing is a top concern for government, Sophie said.
The problem of job exploitation is sometimes caused by expensive housing, according to Searle. "the cost of housing means that students have to work part-time, but they are allowed to work only 20 hours a week, which is generally the minimum wage, but many people are even less paid, and they can`t even afford food and rent."
Other residents in these areas have also changed. 1000 people who lived here in Clayton, in 2016 moved out in 2017.
Klisaris says Monash University has sacrificed open space to build more accommodation. He welcomed investment in railways in the region.
