The Immigration two step

"The Immigration two step" was the title of an interview with Immigration Minister, Senator Chris Evans on ABC Radio National on 3 July 2009. I thought it was a very balanced look at the way Australia's migration policy has slowly changed from one where most applicants came from offshore to one where most applications for permanent residence come from onshore applicants.

I set out below an extract from the introduction, but you can read the transcript or download the audio file by clicking on the link above:

"When immigration issues capture headlines, it's usually because another boat carrying asylum seekers has been intercepted off the West Australian coast, as happened earlier this week. But the fixation with border security can cause us to overlook longer term structural changes, such as the gradual shift from permanent to temporary migration that has been under way in Australia for more than a decade now. ... In fact, these days almost every second 'new' migrant to Australia is already living here as a temporary worker or as an international student..."

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