oneworldtalk

cafe grande · Joined: 20 Mar 2007 Posts: 88 Location: Down Under

http://www.smh.com.au/letters/index.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

Where would we be without migrants? Their skills are our saviour

August 5, 2008

[Journalist]Paul Sheehan, in complaining about the historically high migration intake, makes the bizarre assertion that the fact "Kevin Rudd did not have the decency to mention immigration once in his 4300-word campaign launch" is "the most glaring inconsistency" of his Government ("And the challenge of migration?", August 4).

Quite why this non-mention is indecent or inconsistent is not made clear. Our current levels of migration are supported by both major parties and, as far as I have seen, were not opposed by any of the three minor parties represented in Federal Parliament last year. While more debate on such an important topic is always welcome, political parties at election time usually focus on the areas in which they clearly differ from other parties, not those where they broadly agree.

Since the election the new Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, has called a number of times for more debate on the rapidly changing nature of migration here and overseas, and the need to modernise our immigration laws and plan for the probability of a continuing high intake.

The vast majority of our current immigration intake, whether permanent or temporary residents, is demand-driven and based on skill and labour needs, plus the large and economically important education export market.

No one denies there are infrastructure demands that come with more people, but the failure of governments to plan and deliver those is not the fault of migrants, any more than it is the fault of new-born babies, who also create infrastructure and service delivery needs.

In the past year, more than 60 per cent of skilled migrants have filled vacancies in the following occupations and industries: health and community services; property and business services; construction, communication services; manufacturing; and mining. More than 9000 migrant workers filled vacancies in health and community services alone.

Sheehan and other opponents of migration never detail the negative economic and social consequences that big cuts in migration would cause through those and many other vacancies not being filled. His recycling of Howard-era rhetoric accusing people of "bypassing immigration controls or refugee programs" puts propagandising about the past ahead of policy debate about the present.

His assertion that the changes to immigration detention recently announced by the Federal Government show "the fundamentals of the system are not going to be changed" shows how little he understands the system.

Andrew Bartlett Wilston (Qld)