❓ WA Minister criticises the federal government's skilled migration policies, arguing they unfairly disadvantage Western Australia by favouring other states like South Australia and Victoria in attracting skilled migrants to their capital cities.
AnsweredQoN 595Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SKILLS CRISIS - FEDERAL MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS
Is the minister aware of any actions by the federal Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs to block Western Australia’s efforts to address the skills crisis? Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH
Is the minister aware of any actions by the federal Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs to block Western Australia’s efforts to address the skills crisis? Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for his very fine question. There is a need for the federal government to revise its regional classification for skilled migrants because the present system unfairly restricts this state’s capacity to address the skills crisis. At present some Australian state and territory capital cities are treated as “regional” for the purpose of skilled migration. They include Adelaide and Hobart, for starters. That provides them with a competitive advantage in attracting skilled migrants - people who want to go to cities rather than to actual regions. In response to a letter I wrote to Senator Vanstone, I was told that the federal government does not consider this to be a problem. However, statistics clearly indicate the benefits being reaped by South Australia and Tasmania in particular. In the nine months to March 2006, a total of 69 458 skilled independent regional visas were approved by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. South Australia’s share of these visas was disproportionately high, representing 61 per cent of total skilled independent regional visas or 1 575, and 32.9 per cent of total regional sponsored migration scheme visas or 930. However, in comparison with that 61 per cent, Western Australia’s share of the SIR visas was only four per cent in a booming economy. Why? Western Australia’s visas must be for regions outside the metropolitan area - it is fairly obvious. In Saturday’s The West Australian Senator Vanstone is quoted as saying that Western Australia should follow the lead of South Australia and Victoria by working more closely with the commonwealth to address the skills shortage. The only way this federal minister has addressed the skills shortage is to make sure that she looks after her own patch. She has granted visas for skilled migrants so that the effect they have on South Australia is nothing other than a plus. Adelaide is classified as a region in the same way as Bunbury, Port Hedland and Karratha are classified as regions. Adelaide is designated a region for the purpose of skilled independent regional visas. Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra have the advantage of being designated regional areas for regional sponsored migration scheme visas; namely, visas for people with skills, who have a relative living in a designated area who is willing to sponsor them. In other words, if a relative - it can be a distant relative - of a skilled migrant is living in the heart of Melbourne, the skilled migrant can be recruited to work in the heart of Melbourne. Under the federal government’s regional sponsored migration scheme, that option is not available to anyone in Perth. Of the 7 030 visas approved by DIMA in the nine months to March 2006, Victoria’s share of approvals was a massive 63.5 per cent, or 4 495 skilled migrants, compared with Western Australia’s share of 4.5 per cent, or 319. In addition, the capacity for Adelaide to qualify as a regional location for SIR visas provides that city with a major advantage in attracting foreign students. Migrants on student visas can switch to SIR or RSMS visas on completion of their studies and be employed in Adelaide. In WA students switching to SIR or RSMS visas can be employed only in regional areas. If Western Australia’s current boom is to continue, the state needs to attract skilled migrants to meet the skills shortages predicted to continue over the next five years. The federal government’s regional visa policies create an uncompetitive environment and should be urgently reviewed. It is not acceptable for a federal government to put in place a skilled migration policy that gives some capital cities in Australia an advantage over other capital cities. That is occurring at the moment. It is a stupid policy; it deliberately sets out to penalise Western Australia, the state that is driving this nation’s economy. The sooner federal Minister Vanstone fixes the problem, the better off we will all be. We will continue to grow the economy of this state and the nation, and continue to lead the economy in the way that we have over the past five years.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH replied: I thank the member for his very fine question. There is a need for the federal government to revise its regional classification for skilled migrants because the present system unfairly restricts this state’s capacity to address the skills crisis. At present some Australian state and territory capital cities are treated as “regional” for the purpose of skilled migration. They include Adelaide and Hobart, for starters. That provides them with a competitive advantage in attracting skilled migrants - people who want to go to cities rather than to actual regions. In response to a letter I wrote to Senator Vanstone, I was told that the federal government does not consider this to be a problem. However, statistics clearly indicate the benefits being reaped by South Australia and Tasmania in particular. In the nine months to March 2006, a total of 69 458 skilled independent regional visas were approved by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. South Australia’s share of these visas was disproportionately high, representing 61 per cent of total skilled independent regional visas or 1 575, and 32.9 per cent of total regional sponsored migration scheme visas or 930. However, in comparison with that 61 per cent, Western Australia’s share of the SIR visas was only four per cent in a booming economy. Why? Western Australia’s visas must be for regions outside the metropolitan area - it is fairly obvious. In Saturday’s The West Australian Senator Vanstone is quoted as saying that Western Australia should follow the lead of South Australia and Victoria by working more closely with the commonwealth to address the skills shortage. The only way this federal minister has addressed the skills shortage is to make sure that she looks after her own patch. She has granted visas for skilled migrants so that the effect they have on South Australia is nothing other than a plus. Adelaide is classified as a region in the same way as Bunbury, Port Hedland and Karratha are classified as regions. Adelaide is designated a region for the purpose of skilled independent regional visas. Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra have the advantage of being designated regional areas for regional sponsored migration scheme visas; namely, visas for people with skills, who have a relative living in a designated area who is willing to sponsor them. In other words, if a relative - it can be a distant relative - of a skilled migrant is living in the heart of Melbourne, the skilled migrant can be recruited to work in the heart of Melbourne. Under the federal government’s regional sponsored migration scheme, that option is not available to anyone in Perth. Of the 7 030 visas approved by DIMA in the nine months to March 2006, Victoria’s share of approvals was a massive 63.5 per cent, or 4 495 skilled migrants, compared with Western Australia’s share of 4.5 per cent, or 319. In addition, the capacity for Adelaide to qualify as a regional location for SIR visas provides that city with a major advantage in attracting foreign students. Migrants on student visas can switch to SIR or RSMS visas on completion of their studies and be employed in Adelaide. In WA students switching to SIR or RSMS visas can be employed only in regional areas. If Western Australia’s current boom is to continue, the state needs to attract skilled migrants to meet the skills shortages predicted to continue over the next five years. The federal government’s regional visa policies create an uncompetitive environment and should be urgently reviewed. It is not acceptable for a federal government to put in place a skilled migration policy that gives some capital cities in Australia an advantage over other capital cities. That is occurring at the moment. It is a stupid policy; it deliberately sets out to penalise Western Australia, the state that is driving this nation’s economy. The sooner federal Minister Vanstone fixes the problem, the better off we will all be. We will continue to grow the economy of this state and the nation, and continue to lead the economy in the way that we have over the past five years.
I thank the member for his very fine question. There is a need for the federal government to revise its regional classification for skilled migrants because the present system unfairly restricts this state’s capacity to address the skills crisis. At present some Australian state and territory capital cities are treated as “regional” for the purpose of skilled migration. They include Adelaide and Hobart, for starters. That provides them with a competitive advantage in attracting skilled migrants - people who want to go to cities rather than to actual regions. In response to a letter I wrote to Senator Vanstone, I was told that the federal government does not consider this to be a problem. However, statistics clearly indicate the benefits being reaped by South Australia and Tasmania in particular. In the nine months to March 2006, a total of 69 458 skilled independent regional visas were approved by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. South Australia’s share of these visas was disproportionately high, representing 61 per cent of total skilled independent regional visas or 1 575, and 32.9 per cent of total regional sponsored migration scheme visas or 930. However, in comparison with that 61 per cent, Western Australia’s share of the SIR visas was only four per cent in a booming economy. Why? Western Australia’s visas must be for regions outside the metropolitan area - it is fairly obvious. In Saturday’s The West Australian Senator Vanstone is quoted as saying that Western Australia should follow the lead of South Australia and Victoria by working more closely with the commonwealth to address the skills shortage. The only way this federal minister has addressed the skills shortage is to make sure that she looks after her own patch. She has granted visas for skilled migrants so that the effect they have on South Australia is nothing other than a plus. Adelaide is classified as a region in the same way as Bunbury, Port Hedland and Karratha are classified as regions. Adelaide is designated a region for the purpose of skilled independent regional visas. Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra have the advantage of being designated regional areas for regional sponsored migration scheme visas; namely, visas for people with skills, who have a relative living in a designated area who is willing to sponsor them. In other words, if a relative - it can be a distant relative - of a skilled migrant is living in the heart of Melbourne, the skilled migrant can be recruited to work in the heart of Melbourne. Under the federal government’s regional sponsored migration scheme, that option is not available to anyone in Perth. Of the 7 030 visas approved by DIMA in the nine months to March 2006, Victoria’s share of approvals was a massive 63.5 per cent, or 4 495 skilled migrants, compared with Western Australia’s share of 4.5 per cent, or 319. In addition, the capacity for Adelaide to qualify as a regional location for SIR visas provides that city with a major advantage in attracting foreign students. Migrants on student visas can switch to SIR or RSMS visas on completion of their studies and be employed in Adelaide. In WA students switching to SIR or RSMS visas can be employed only in regional areas. If Western Australia’s current boom is to continue, the state needs to attract skilled migrants to meet the skills shortages predicted to continue over the next five years. The federal government’s regional visa policies create an uncompetitive environment and should be urgently reviewed. It is not acceptable for a federal government to put in place a skilled migration policy that gives some capital cities in Australia an advantage over other capital cities. That is occurring at the moment. It is a stupid policy; it deliberately sets out to penalise Western Australia, the state that is driving this nation’s economy. The sooner federal Minister Vanstone fixes the problem, the better off we will all be. We will continue to grow the economy of this state and the nation, and continue to lead the economy in the way that we have over the past five years.
It is not acceptable for a federal government to put in place a skilled migration policy that gives some capital cities in Australia an advantage over other capital cities. That is occurring at the moment. It is a stupid policy; it deliberately sets out to penalise Western Australia, the state that is driving this nation’s economy. The sooner federal Minister Vanstone fixes the problem, the better off we will all be. We will continue to grow the economy of this state and the nation, and continue to lead the economy in the way that we have over the past five years.
Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH replied: I thank the member for his very fine question. There is a need for the federal government to revise its regional classification for skilled migrants because the present system unfairly restricts this state’s capacity to address the skills crisis. At present some Australian state and territory capital cities are treated as “regional” for the purpose of skilled migration. They include Adelaide and Hobart, for starters. That provides them with a competitive advantage in attracting skilled migrants - people who want to go to cities rather than to actual regions. In response to a letter I wrote to Senator Vanstone, I was told that the federal government does not consider this to be a problem. However, statistics clearly indicate the benefits being reaped by South Australia and Tasmania in particular. In the nine months to March 2006, a total of 69 458 skilled independent regional visas were approved by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. South Australia’s share of these visas was disproportionately high, representing 61 per cent of total skilled independent regional visas or 1 575, and 32.9 per cent of total regional sponsored migration scheme visas or 930. However, in comparison with that 61 per cent, Western Australia’s share of the SIR visas was only four per cent in a booming economy. Why? Western Australia’s visas must be for regions outside the metropolitan area - it is fairly obvious. In Saturday’s The West Australian Senator Vanstone is quoted as saying that Western Australia should follow the lead of South Australia and Victoria by working more closely with the commonwealth to address the skills shortage. The only way this federal minister has addressed the skills shortage is to make sure that she looks after her own patch. She has granted visas for skilled migrants so that the effect they have on South Australia is nothing other than a plus. Adelaide is classified as a region in the same way as Bunbury, Port Hedland and Karratha are classified as regions. Adelaide is designated a region for the purpose of skilled independent regional visas. Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra have the advantage of being designated regional areas for regional sponsored migration scheme visas; namely, visas for people with skills, who have a relative living in a designated area who is willing to sponsor them. In other words, if a relative - it can be a distant relative - of a skilled migrant is living in the heart of Melbourne, the skilled migrant can be recruited to work in the heart of Melbourne. Under the federal government’s regional sponsored migration scheme, that option is not available to anyone in Perth. Of the 7 030 visas approved by DIMA in the nine months to March 2006, Victoria’s share of approvals was a massive 63.5 per cent, or 4 495 skilled migrants, compared with Western Australia’s share of 4.5 per cent, or 319. In addition, the capacity for Adelaide to qualify as a regional location for SIR visas provides that city with a major advantage in attracting foreign students. Migrants on student visas can switch to SIR or RSMS visas on completion of their studies and be employed in Adelaide. In WA students switching to SIR or RSMS visas can be employed only in regional areas. If Western Australia’s current boom is to continue, the state needs to attract skilled migrants to meet the skills shortages predicted to continue over the next five years. The federal government’s regional visa policies create an uncompetitive environment and should be urgently reviewed. It is not acceptable for a federal government to put in place a skilled migration policy that gives some capital cities in Australia an advantage over other capital cities. That is occurring at the moment. It is a stupid policy; it deliberately sets out to penalise Western Australia, the state that is driving this nation’s economy. The sooner federal Minister Vanstone fixes the problem, the better off we will all be. We will continue to grow the economy of this state and the nation, and continue to lead the economy in the way that we have over the past five years.
I thank the member for his very fine question. There is a need for the federal government to revise its regional classification for skilled migrants because the present system unfairly restricts this state’s capacity to address the skills crisis. At present some Australian state and territory capital cities are treated as “regional” for the purpose of skilled migration. They include Adelaide and Hobart, for starters. That provides them with a competitive advantage in attracting skilled migrants - people who want to go to cities rather than to actual regions. In response to a letter I wrote to Senator Vanstone, I was told that the federal government does not consider this to be a problem. However, statistics clearly indicate the benefits being reaped by South Australia and Tasmania in particular. In the nine months to March 2006, a total of 69 458 skilled independent regional visas were approved by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. South Australia’s share of these visas was disproportionately high, representing 61 per cent of total skilled independent regional visas or 1 575, and 32.9 per cent of total regional sponsored migration scheme visas or 930. However, in comparison with that 61 per cent, Western Australia’s share of the SIR visas was only four per cent in a booming economy. Why? Western Australia’s visas must be for regions outside the metropolitan area - it is fairly obvious. In Saturday’s The West Australian Senator Vanstone is quoted as saying that Western Australia should follow the lead of South Australia and Victoria by working more closely with the commonwealth to address the skills shortage. The only way this federal minister has addressed the skills shortage is to make sure that she looks after her own patch. She has granted visas for skilled migrants so that the effect they have on South Australia is nothing other than a plus. Adelaide is classified as a region in the same way as Bunbury, Port Hedland and Karratha are classified as regions. Adelaide is designated a region for the purpose of skilled independent regional visas. Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra have the advantage of being designated regional areas for regional sponsored migration scheme visas; namely, visas for people with skills, who have a relative living in a designated area who is willing to sponsor them. In other words, if a relative - it can be a distant relative - of a skilled migrant is living in the heart of Melbourne, the skilled migrant can be recruited to work in the heart of Melbourne. Under the federal government’s regional sponsored migration scheme, that option is not available to anyone in Perth. Of the 7 030 visas approved by DIMA in the nine months to March 2006, Victoria’s share of approvals was a massive 63.5 per cent, or 4 495 skilled migrants, compared with Western Australia’s share of 4.5 per cent, or 319. In addition, the capacity for Adelaide to qualify as a regional location for SIR visas provides that city with a major advantage in attracting foreign students. Migrants on student visas can switch to SIR or RSMS visas on completion of their studies and be employed in Adelaide. In WA students switching to SIR or RSMS visas can be employed only in regional areas. If Western Australia’s current boom is to continue, the state needs to attract skilled migrants to meet the skills shortages predicted to continue over the next five years. The federal government’s regional visa policies create an uncompetitive environment and should be urgently reviewed. It is not acceptable for a federal government to put in place a skilled migration policy that gives some capital cities in Australia an advantage over other capital cities. That is occurring at the moment. It is a stupid policy; it deliberately sets out to penalise Western Australia, the state that is driving this nation’s economy. The sooner federal Minister Vanstone fixes the problem, the better off we will all be. We will continue to grow the economy of this state and the nation, and continue to lead the economy in the way that we have over the past five years.
It is not acceptable for a federal government to put in place a skilled migration policy that gives some capital cities in Australia an advantage over other capital cities. That is occurring at the moment. It is a stupid policy; it deliberately sets out to penalise Western Australia, the state that is driving this nation’s economy. The sooner federal Minister Vanstone fixes the problem, the better off we will all be. We will continue to grow the economy of this state and the nation, and continue to lead the economy in the way that we have over the past five years.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.