Call for a 25% cut in migration
* Josh Gordon  * October 26, 2008

AUSTRALIA'S migration intake must be immediately slashed by one quarter to help cope with the global financial crisis and relieve pressure on cities and the environment, says the Federal Opposition.

Amid growing concern that Australia's unemployment rate is set to increase, Opposition immigration spokeswoman Sharman Stone said plans for a record 190,300 migrants in 2008-09 should immediately be scaled back to the 2005-06 level of 142,930.

That would represent a 25% drop, effectively ending Australia's policy of relying heavily on migrants to plug skills shortages in an acknowledgement that the economy is set to slow sharply.

"With all the indicators now pointing to a significant downturn in the employment market, the Government must end its dithering and scale back its migration program urgently," Dr Stone said.

"Unless migrants have prospective employers demanding their specific skills, a big lift in migration will only compound the pressures in what is becoming a much tougher and more competitive scenario for job-seekers."

Immigration Minister Chris Evans has already hinted that the planned migration intake for next financial year is likely to be lower as a result of the global financial crisis. He has also said that the expected intake this financial year would be reviewed after the Federal Treasury's budget update next month, which will contain new unemployment predictions.

The current planned migration intake is based on predictions that the unemployment rate will average 4.75% this financial year, compared to the current rate of 4.3%.

It follows growing anxiety that Australia's cities are now bulging, with the influx of new arrivals placing increased pressure on roads, public transport networks, hospitals, schools, water resources and housing.

Meanwhile, federal Housing Minister Tanya Plibersek said it was essential that a more integrated approach was taken to the related issues of migration and urban planning.

She said the Government would be publishing information on the expected demand for new housing, which was influenced by factors such as migration, changes in divorce rates and an increase in the availability of home care for elderly people.

"We have an enormous amount of information available to us on what the demand will be for housing, and immigration is a key part of that," Ms Plibersek told The Sunday Age.

The Government is hoping a $512 million fund providing grants for local and state government and private developers will help cover costs linked to land development and infrastructure such as water, sewerage and transport.

Figures provided to The Sunday Age show that so far there have been 15 expressions of interest in the grants from Victoria, out of 91 received nationally.

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