According to local media sources quoted by Australia's New Express Network, the number of people queuing for skilled immigrant visas to remote areas during Australia's Unionparty administration surged more than 50 percent, but the number of approved people halved. Morrison (Scott Morrison) government, on the other hand, is being called upon to explain how it plans to force immigrants to settle in remote areas.
The (Department of Home Affairs) data from the Home Affairs Department raised questions about Unionparty government's earlier claims. Government once said that the uneven distribution of Australian immigrants caused traffic congestion in Sydney and Melbourne, which was the fault of the former Labour Party's government.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the number of skilled immigrant visas in non-remote areas increased year by year during the Unionparty administration. When Turnbull (Malcolm Turnbull) was in power in 2016-2017, similar visas for remote areas fell to 10198 from a peak of 20510 in 2012-2013.
Population minister Tucci (Alan Tudge) announced on the 9th that new immigrants will be forced to settle for several years outside Sydney, Melbourne and southeastern Queensland in an effort to ease congestion there. But Tucci did not give details of the plan, but said it would release the details within a few months.
(Abul Rizvi), the former deputy director of immigration, said it was not surprising that government had introduced a visa program to encourage migrants from remote areas. In recent years, however, the number of (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme) migrants through the guarantee migration program in remote areas has declined significantly.
"without unduly lowering the selection criteria, stimulating greater demand for these visas and similar new visas is a challenge for the government. Such visas may reduce the chances for immigrants to find skilled jobs. " Rizway said.
On September 9, Prime Minister Morrison also spoke in an attempt to allay concerns about the constitutionality of proposals to force immigrants to live in the suburbs. He said the guarantee of interstate and intra-state freedom of movement applies to permanent immigrants rather than temporary work visas.
According to the latest annual data available, the number of temporary work visa holders in Australia reached 160000 between 2016 and 2017.
In addition, there are 328000 students studying in Australia, which gives Australian universities access to the international market and maintains funding sources.
Morrison said in September that he hoped to curb the influx of (international) students into Sydney, Melbourne and encourage them to travel to other states such as Tata, South Australia and Western Australia. However, he added: "when it comes to education, we have to be very cautious."
Another remote immigration programme disclosed by the Fairfax Media in August was the establishment of a local council-led immigration agreement to address proven labour gaps.
The Fairfax Media understands that the "government integration" policy is still in the process of being developed, pending final approval by the cabinet plenary.
While visas for skilled immigrants in remote areas declined in batches, the number of people awaiting approval continued to rise. According to the Ministry of the Interior, 18341 people waited for visa approval in remote areas in June 2017, an increase of 6369, or 53.2 percent, compared with June 2016.
Esterin (Daniel Estrin), a partner at Estrin-Saul, Western Australia's largest immigration law firm, asks: "if (government) is to encourage people to live in remote areas, why is the rejection rate so high?" This seems to be the opposite of their goal of fully supporting [migrants from remote areas]. "
