Originally Posted by
ExtraShot
The running average of Net Overseas Migration before figures were boosted by the Howard government, (and then boosted further to over 300000 one year during Rudd’s reign of incompetence), were 70000 per year. In the year to June 2018 the figure was 236733.
3101.0 - Australian Demographic Statistics, Jun 2018
The increase has boosted those GDP figures nicely, and the made the federal budget look much better than it otherwise would have. Shame about Housing prices, the cost/quality of now much more crowded public services schools/hospitals/public transport, wage growth, the time it took you to get from A to B, general quality of life, etc...
There is no basis for you assertion the ‘Australia needs more immigration, not less’. Oh wait , ‘aging population’, yeah? A far more moderate, carefully managed migration program focusing on The quality of migrants rather than large quantities, will be just as effective as filling skills shortages. We are able to train and employ our own citizens ahead of almost all of the occupations on the ‘skilled’ Migration list , which much of the time is merely an excuse to keep wage growth flat and not have to spend on training your own workforce (Qantaslink anybody?)
With all those Uber and Amazon drones you talk about coming (!), along with all the other automation we’re expection in the coming decades, where will this growing population work? Come to think of it, It’d probably support an ageing popultaion, with a highly trained sector of working people, quite well!
You can’t force people not to live in Sydney or Melbourne, so the problems there will just keep growing (and with other Capitals as well, because most migrants don’t move to regional areas), with the ABS predicting Sydney will have a population of 9 million by around 2050 or so. Can you imagine that? Wow, how livable, it’ll only take you 4 hours in traffic everyday to get to and from work, but just imaging the ‘vibrancy’!
The Howard Government 1996- 2007 visas granted 73,900 and 148,200 respectively however his first full year 1998 it was reduced to 67,100 visas granted.
The Rudd Government highest number of visa grants appears to be 171,318. So if you have a figure of over 300,000 that means a lot of returning residents entered Australia that year.
Last year Australia's migration planning level was unchanged at 190,000 most of this is skilled migration and includes around 54,000 in partner visas (partners and children of an Australian citizen or
PR). For the first time in many years this planning level was not meet - we could not attract enough skilled worker applicants and were 25,000 short. Partner visa planning levels were meet and FYI it has around 12-24 month processing time and over $7,000 for the application. The Skilled worker visas are much cheaper and faster.
Over the years Migration Program planning numbers have fluctuated according to the priorities and economic and political considerations of the government of the day. By 1969 program planning figures had reached a high of 185 000. However, by 1975, the planned intake for the year had been reduced to 50 000. The migration intake gradually climbed again after this and by 1988 there was another peak under the Hawke Government with a planned intake of 145 000. After 1988 the Migration Program planning levels were gradually reduced, with a low of 80 000 in 1992–93.
After the Howard Government came to power in 1996, following an initial dip, there was a gradual increase in the planned migration intake, with immigration seen as being closely tied to economic growth. This upward trend was initially continued under the Rudd Government, with numbers reaching a record high of 190 300 in 2008–09. However, in 2009–10 the planned intake was reduced to 168 700, and has been kept at this level for 2010–11.The recent reductions in the Migration Program have been attributed to the impact of the global financial crisis (GFC) on the Australian economy, which led to a decline in the need for additional skilled labour.It remains to be seen what impact the ‘sustainable population’ debate taking place in the context of the 2010 election will have on future Migration Program planning levels.
Yes, the ageing population of current tax payers is a factor of migration requirements and a reason that there are age limits on the skilled worker visas. What many are not aware about the 130,000ish Skilled Worker visas granted is that they include partners and children. so the actual number of "workers is much lower than 130,000 and the children are future tax payers.
The Skilled Workers program is very flawed and yes a reason to stop wage growth, the place I work is a prime example. But there are ways that can be fixed. Labour Hire companies are far more to blame for flat wage growth.
The jobs of the future will certainly be different from the jobs we are use to now - HR grew out of nothing, I still do not see the need for them, other than a mouth of a manager that does not have the balls to say things themselves. But certainly some interesting options will arise to suck a reasonable amount of that large pool of Supa from the many retirees.
There certainly are ways to get the incoming migrants to settle in other areas, South Australia introduced one recently.
It seems I returned to Australia at that peak on the graph in your link and became a resident again. I obtained a visa for my wife, and my two children obtained citizenship by descent - sorry if that offends you.
* in addition to the 190,000 there is the 15,000 humanitarian visas granted that are not included in that number (that a resultant of fighting in wars).