If permanent immigrants now have a quota of 190000 a year, should they also have quota limits?
The importance of immigrants, especially for permanent immigrants, to Australia is self-evident. Since the fiscal year 2012-13, the quota of permanent immigrants in Australia has remained stable at 1.9 million, and the proportion of all branches has not changed.
For temporary immigrants, Australia currently does not set a quota ceiling. Whether student or job visa holders, most end up looking for permanent immigration opportunities. In other words, the temporary immigration visa has actually become a springboard towards permanent residence.
As a result, homegrown migrants lay down their guns amid calls for a cut in the quota for permanent immigrants.
Quota for temporary immigrants should be limited
Sally McManus, Secretary of the Australian Trade Union Council (ACTU), called on the government to set a quota ceiling for migrant visas, especially for work visas.
"according to the 2016 Senate report, more than 1.4 million temporary visa holders have the right to work in Australia," she said. That is, one out of every 10 workers in Australia is an outsider. " This intensified local competition for employment.
Australia has a right-to-work visa, most familiar with the 457-visa that has just been abolished, and is later replaced by a 482-visa. In addition, there is a student visa, a graduate visa, a job holiday, and a 444 visa held by New Zealanders.
It can be seen that Sally McManus is based on the premise that all the holders of temporary visa holders who have the right to work are working.
But is that possible?
How many visa holders are working?
Industry experts said there was insufficient evidence to support or refute Sally McManus`s argument, and could at best be based on the employment rate of all types of temporary visa holders.
The data in the survey of research and work (2015-16) by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that only 1.9 per cent of the total number of workers holding a visa is much less than 10 per cent of Sally McManus.
To take a step back, even if the data are available, it is virtually impossible to determine exactly how many people are working.
First of all, many temporary visa holders do not have a job demand or a record of working habits in Australia, and holding a visa does not mean they will work.
Many temporary visa holders are engaged in unstable or long-term jobs, saying that they do not do it. There are certain job restrictions, such as student signing and working vacation visa, such as not more than 40 hours of work every two weeks and six months of working in the same place with a student visa.
In addition, a significant number of temporary visa holders are children, such as secondary school students or secondary school students. Will these people be included in the labour force?
The Sally McManus`s call for quotas for temporary immigrants is largely a concern that locals will be robbed of their jobs. For skilled immigrants, Australia is absorbing them to fill a shortage of skills that may indeed compete with locals in some industries.
But for the holders of temporary visa holders, most of them are unskilled jobs, or temporary or working-time workers, so they do not have much influence on the local people looking for full-time jobs.
Ministry of the Interior for advice
Although Sally McManus`s argument is unfounded, it is not the first time that quotas have been imposed on temporary immigrants.
At the end of 2017, the Ministry of the Interior issued a discussion paper entitled "Managing Australia`s Migrant Inke" for public opinion on the fiscal year 2018-19 and in the future. But it also involved the problem of temporary migration, such as:
Should all temporary immigrants also have quota restrictions?
How can migration plans be developed to ensure that they achieve a balance between the economy, society, infrastructure and the environment, as well as sustainable development?
Does the current immigration size and quota allocation reflect Australia`s economic and social needs?
It can be seen that the issue of quota for temporary immigrants has long been considered by the Government, and if it is promoted by all sectors of the community, the result is really hard to say.
epilogue
Every year, the Australian government listens to state government agencies, business and industry groups, stakeholders and the Australian public, taking into account short-and long-term considerations to formulate immigration plans, which are generally announced in the May budget.
It`s only more than a month before the budget for fiscal year 2018 / 19 is released. Let`s wait and see, and hopefully the results won`t be too bad.
