Australian Immigration: More Positives Than Negatives?

July 23, 2008 by Mira

For people seeking a challenging and exciting career, Australia has been the dream country. Immigration to Australia is an ambition in Britain and hence the Australian Immigration Service has strict rules about the number of people that are allowed to enter Australia. Australia requires skilled workers and their work experience, qualification, and language ability are key factors in determining their migration. People enter Australia with an either an

Investor visa
Business Owner visa
Business Talent visa or
Senior Executive visa

The country’s economy is very strong and it encourages the immigration of skilled workers if they can contribute to the economy. But there are a wide range of views on the level of immigration which are more speculative in nature. CSIRO population study entitled “Future Dilemmas”, commissioned by DIM pointed out six very valid points with regard to immigration. They pointed out that the numbers of aged continued to rise but this is being debated that immigration actually can slow the ageing of Australia’s population.

CSIRO pointed out that Australia’s trade balance would worsen because of increase in imports and higher consumption of domestic products, increased gas emissions, overuse of agricultural soils, and decline in urban air quality and biodiversity. It claimed that Australia is over populated with reduced standard of living. Some claim that this rise in immigration level has led to shortage of housing and employers attempt to introduce foreign workers to avoid paying locals higher wages.

But Productivity Council has submitted a final research report that immigration cannot possibly be the only reason for all these degradations.

In contradiction to this, a study in science journal, Nature, claims that immigration does not result in global warming because although immigration increases population in one country, on a global level, immigration does not affect population.

It is being argued that:

these immigrants to Australia actually reduce the ageing of population because they are young on average.
Skilled workers actually add more to the economy.
Immigration did not increase unemployment but actually it decreased unemployment because of more investments.

There is a strong emphasis in the immigration program to attract people who can contribute to the economy. The country continues to welcome migrants who are skilled and can help the well being of the country and its people.

The Productivity Commission does not accept “population pressures” as a major cause of strong increases in house prices, stating that “increased demand for better quality and better located dwellings, rather than for more dwellings, has been the primary driver”.

DIAC has found that Australia’s well-structured labor market along with the larger number of immigrants with higher education levels has tended to raise employment levels for Australians who are relatively unskilled.

“Gittens claims there is considerable opposition to immigration in Australia by “battlers” because of the belief that immigrants will steal jobs. Gittens claims though that “it’s true that immigrants add to the supply of labor. But it’s equally true that, by consuming and bringing families who consume, they also add to the demand for labor - usually by more.”