The new translated booklet “will prove to be a valuable resource to protect migrant communities from unscrupulous operators,” said a Department of Immigration and Citizenship release.

In Australia, it is illegal for anyone to give immigration assistance without being a registered migration agent.

The booklet details the obligations of a migration agent to a client.

It also lists the options that a migration agent client can take in case he has concerns about the migration agent.

The booklet translated in Filipino/Tagalog is available at the Office of the MARA (Migration Agents Registration Authority). It is also available for download here.

Thumbshot, The People of Australia // DIAC

Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Chris Bowen this week released the Federal government’s new multicultural policy, The People of Australia, and said it built on a whole-of-government approach to maintaining a socially cohesive and harmonious society.

“This new multicultural policy will further strengthen our multicultural policies and programs,’ Mr Bowen said.

“It is an expression of support for Australia’s multiculturalism and an endorsement of the Australian Multicultural Advisory Council (AMAC) statement presented to government for consideration last year.”

Mr Bowen said as part of the strategy, the government would introduce a new independent advisory body with broader terms of reference to succeed the current Advisory Council.

“The new body will act as a champion for multiculturalism in the community; will advise the government on multicultural affairs; and will help to ensure Australian Government services respond to the needs of migrant and refugee communities,” he said.

“We will also establish a National Anti-Racism Partnership to design and deliver an anti-racism strategy as we continue to work to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.”

Mr Bowen said The People of Australia policy embraced four principles, including celebrating and valuing diversity; maintaining social cohesion; communicating the benefits of Australia’s diversity; and responding to intolerance and discrimination.

“The government believes in the right of all Australians, regardless of where they come from, to enjoy and contribute fully to Australian society. This new policy clearly demonstrates that commitment,” he said.

Download The People of Australia policy statements.

The recent tragedy along Christmas Island shores brought home to Australians the folly of a misplaced compassionate policy.

Instead of a new life, before our eyes, dreams died on Australian shores, unknown numbers of asylum seekers, perhaps in hundreds, in missing ships or unreported sea disasters.

Unseaworthy vessels should not sail, and inaction or encouragement for such perilous voyage by those with responsibility have blood in their hands by negligence or omission when tragedy strikes. The simplistic blame hurled at “people smugglers”. finding, prosecuting and penalizing them post mortem is a lame excuse for a bad policy.

It is right for the Liberal Coalition, the Greens MP Andrew Wilkie and even Independent MP Rob Oakshott to decry the perceived solution by Labor Prime Minister Gillard to form another committee as another talkfest.

Senior Labor MPs now opine that the Howard policy was right, although they do not expect the Prime Minister to come close to adopting it.

There should be an orderly processing and acceptance of genuine asylum seekers.

Refugees have gone through the physical pains, mental anguish and emotional sufferings, deprivation and agonies of family separations. Unimaginable, that one be less human not to sympathize, wish and grant them opportunity for a better life.

Migrants know Australians are most welcoming and sharing the bounties of this land.

Australia has come to benefit from the skills and contributions of migrants. The virtual abolition of the White Australia policy precipitated by the Liberal government of Harold Holt in 1967 augurs well for the acceptance of Asian migrants and then the settlement of the Indo-Chinese refugees.

Later, the family reunion policy of the Liberal Fraser government saw the influx of more Asians migrants including the increased number of illegals in the late 80′s and early 90′s.

The detention system commenced and flourished during the Labor Hawke-Keating government. It was this time when the Immigration bureaucracy developed a punitive and inhumane culture inherited by Howard that peaked with the infamous Vivian Alvarez Solon and Cornelia Rau cases.

When Rudd Labor came to government in 2007, the shape and orderly processing of migrants changed. The General Skilled Migration Program suffered a bottleneck and got confused because resources were allocated to the uncontrolled arrival of boat people. Australia lost control of its borders and the rorts in students and temporary visas did little to balance the skills needed by the industry.

There were too many cooks, chefs and hairdressers, and the engineers, accountants, technologists and IT applications languished in the processing line. The creative response of the Labor government is the “Notice of Cap and Cease” scheme. Tens of Thousands of skilled migrant applications since 2007 were taken “not to have applied” and returned. The quality of the influx of migrants changed and now the industry has warned of acute shortage of skilled workers.

Perceptive migrants particularly Filipinos would be aware of the small number of Filipino migrants arrivals in the last four years of Labor government as compared during the Howard years. Those who followed the right path by sponsoring family members but whose applications were returned under the “cap and cease”, unprocessed after years of waiting, have every reason to turn against Labor.

The response, Labor doggedly clings to its failed migration policy.

*** Lawyer Jess Diaz is a councillor of Blacktown City Council. More about Jess Diaz…

The recent tragedy along Christmas Island shores brought home to Australians the folly of a misplaced compassionate policy.

Instead of a new life, before our eyes, dreams died on Australian shores, unknown numbers of asylum seekers, perhaps in hundreds, in missing ships or unreported sea disasters.

Unseaworthy vessels should not sail, and inaction or encouragement for such perilous voyage by those with responsibility have blood in their hands by negligence or omission when tragedy strikes. The simplistic blame hurled at “people smugglers”. finding, prosecuting and penalizing them post mortem is a lame excuse for a bad policy.

It is right for the Liberal Coalition, the Greens MP Andrew Wilkie and even Independent MP Rob Oakshott to decry the perceived solution by Labor Prime Minister Gillard to form another committee as another talkfest.

Senior Labor MPs now opine that the Howard policy was right, although they do not expect the Prime Minister to come close to adopting it.

There should be an orderly processing and acceptance of genuine asylum seekers.

Refugees have gone through the physical pains, mental anguish and emotional sufferings, deprivation and agonies of family separations. Unimaginable, that one be less human not to sympathize, wish and grant them opportunity for a better life.

Migrants know Australians are most welcoming and sharing the bounties of this land.

Australia has come to benefit from the skills and contributions of migrants. The virtual abolition of the White Australia policy precipitated by the Liberal government of Harold Holt in 1967 augurs well for the acceptance of Asian migrants and then the settlement of the Indo-Chinese refugees.

Later, the family reunion policy of the Liberal Fraser government saw the influx of more Asians migrants including the increased number of illegals in the late 80′s and early 90′s.

The detention system commenced and flourished during the Labor Hawke-Keating government. It was this time when the Immigration bureaucracy developed a punitive and inhumane culture inherited by Howard that peaked with the infamous Vivian Alvarez Solon and Cornelia Rau cases.

When Rudd Labor came to government in 2007, the shape and orderly processing of migrants changed. The General Skilled Migration Program suffered a bottleneck and got confused because resources were allocated to the uncontrolled arrival of boat people. Australia lost control of its borders and the rorts in students and temporary visas did little to balance the skills needed by the industry.

There were too many cooks, chefs and hairdressers, and the engineers, accountants, technologists and IT applications languished in the processing line. The creative response of the Labor government is the “Notice of Cap and Cease” scheme. Tens of Thousands of skilled migrant applications since 2007 were taken “not to have applied” and returned. The quality of the influx of migrants changed and now the industry has warned of acute shortage of skilled workers.

Perceptive migrants particularly Filipinos would be aware of the small number of Filipino migrants arrivals in the last four years of Labor government as compared during the Howard years. Those who followed the right path by sponsoring family members but whose applications were returned under the “cap and cease”, unprocessed after years of waiting, have every reason to turn against Labor.

The response, Labor doggedly clings to its failed migration policy.

*** Lawyer Jess Diaz is a councillor of Blacktown City Council. More about Jess Diaz…

More than half of the number of settler arrivals last year came from the five countries.

In 2009-10, there were 140,610 settler arrivals of which 73,097 or 51.9 per cent came from the top five countries.

On a regional basis, settler arrivals were Oceania (21,619), Europe (22,690), North Africa & the Middle East (8,802), Southeast Asia (20,581), Northeast Asia (21,265), Southern Asia (24,900), Central Asia (1,604), Northern America (2,333), South America, Central America & the Caribbean (2,413), Sub-Saharan Africa (13,565), and others (838).

There were 5,958 settler arrivals from the Philippines representing 28.9 per cent of those from Southeast Asian countries.

Including those already onshore, total permanent additions from the Philippines was 10,615 in 2009-10 as against 9,173 in previous year.

DIAC also reported that in the 2009-10 settler arrivals report released yesterday, New South Wales remained the most popular state for settler arrivals with 30.1 per cent, followed by Victoria (26.1 per cent), Queensland (17.7 per cent) and Western Australia (14.9 per cent).

The targeted 50 per cent reduction is part of the government’s regulatory reform agenda aimed at “improving productivity and international competitiveness.”

The proposed visa reduction is contained in a discussion paper called “Simpler Visas – Implementing a simpler framework for temporary residence work visas.”

Under the proposed visa framework, visa regulations will be standardised. Visas with similar regulations will be clustered under a common category based on purpose of entry, length of stay and visa entitlements and requirements.

Currently, there are 18 temporary work visa subclasses.

The proposed visas and the existing visas they intend to group are:

Short Stay Activity – Business (Short Stay, exc. Business Visitors), Sports Events participants, Documentary & Commercial for overseas use

Sponsored Long Stay Activity - Exchange, Sport, Religious Worker

Training and Research - Occupational Trainee, Professional Development, Visiting Academic, Sport Trainees

International Relations – Government Agreement, Foreign Government Agency, Domestic worker – Diplomatic Consular, Immunities and Privileges, Service Sellers

Business (Long Stay) – Medical Practitioner, Domestic Worker – Executive, Business (Long Stay), Journalists

Entertainment - Entertainment, Media and Film Staff

Special Programs - Special Program

Working Holiday - Working Holiday

Work and Holiday - Work and Holiday

The proposed visa framework is based on public comments received from an initial discussion paper released last June.

“The government has considered submissions made in response to the initial discussion paper and has drawn up its proposed model for visa simplification,” Mr Bowen said.

“The government has committed to reducing the number of temporary work visas by 50 per cent by 2012 and to target a 50 per cent reduction in the total number of visa subclasses by 2015.

“The final settings for simplified temporary work visas will be decided after further public consultation, based on feedback to this latest discussion paper,” continued Mr Bowen.

Public commenting on the discussion paper closes 4 February 2011.

A fast-paced and dramatic video, The Smuggler, that depicts Australian authorities tracking and arresting people involved in financing and supporting people smuggling activities is the latest installment in the Australian Government’s attempts to shut down people smuggling operations.

The video, along with several others, appears on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s (DIAC) dedicated No to People Smuggling YouTube channel.

The Smuggler, shot and produced within DIAC, highlights tough new laws passed recently in Australia to combat people smuggling.

The laws target those who finance or provide support for people smuggling activities as well as provide for strong penalties, underlining the seriousness of these offences.

The new laws contain penalties of up to 20 years’ imprisonment if convicted and also targets those who send money overseas that aids people smuggling with a penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

“Those considering seeking asylum in Australia must follow lawful channels and pursue ordered methods of migration,” a DIAC spokesman said.

“There are safe and lawful visa options for people wanting to resettle in Australia, including humanitarian resettlement or sponsorship by relatives already here.

“The Smuggler demonstrates in graphic detail the resources that agencies in Australia have at their disposal to monitor, arrest and ultimately prosecute those involved in people smuggling activities.

“It highlights that authorities monitor and prosecute not just people smugglers and their associates but also people who support these activities such as those sending money overseas to friends and relatives to finance efforts to come to Australia using people smugglers.

“No to People Smuggling is an important tool in the Australian Government’s efforts to discourage asylum seekers from making the dangerous trip to Australia by boat.

“It is proving a successful tool to reach asylum seekers’ families and friends in Australia to highlight the grim realities and risks in engaging with people smugglers.

“The tragic and unnecessary loss of five lives at sea on an Australian-bound vessel in May this year was a grim reminder of the realities of making the dangerous trip to Australia at the hands of people smugglers,” the spokesman added.

The new Australians – who hail from countries including Japan, the United Kingdom, India and Korea – are the first of thousands of people across the country who will become citizens on and around Australian Citizenship Day on September 17.

“Australian Citizenship Day was introduced in 2001 as an opportunity for people to take pride in our citizenship and reflect on the meaning and importance of being Australian,” a Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) spokesman said.

“Citizenship is the bond which unites us all in our culturally diverse nation. It symbolises our sense of belonging to the country where we have been born or have decided to make our home.

“Australian Citizenship Day celebrations provide an occasion for all of us to be proud of being part of this great nation. It is also a special day for our newest Australians to join our extended family at ceremonies around the country.”

Some 3,600 people from 118 countries will become citizens at 69 ceremonies across Australia as part of Australian Citizenship Day.

DIAC and local government councils will host ceremonies in state and territory capital cities, major metropolitan centres and regional towns.

Source: Department of Immigration and Citizenship

High population growth slows down... // TFA Photo

Australia’s population reached 22.2 million by the end of 2009, growing by 432,600 people over the year. Net overseas migration accounted for 64% of this growth, with the remaining 36% due to natural increase (births minus deaths).

Based on preliminary figures, there were 295,700 births and 140,800 deaths registered during 2009, both down slightly on 2008 figures.

Preliminary net overseas migration recorded for 2009 was 277,700 people, down from 301,200 people in 2008. Preliminary net overseas migration for 2009 was the difference between 508,000 arrivals and 230,300 departures.

Western Australia’s population continued to record the fastest annual growth rate of all states and territories, growing 2.7% during 2009, followed by Queensland (2.4%), the Northern Territory (2.2%), Victoria (2.1%), the Australian Capital Territory (1.8%), New South Wales (1.6%), South Australia (1.3%) and Tasmania (0.9%).

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Migration intake expected to be reduced... // TFA Photo

Mr Burke has been tasked to develop within a year the country’s first population plan, including a review of immigration levels.

Australia’s annual migration intake is expected to be reduced as a stop-gap measure to address traffic congestion, housing, hospitals, water and the environment concerns.

Based on the figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the total population of Australia is now 21.9 million and is expected by the government to grow to 35.9 million by 2050. The 2008-09 growth rate of was 2.1% compared to the average annual growth rate of 1.8% for the five years to June 2009.

The world’s population growth rate in 2008 was 1.17% based on World Bank’s World Development Indicators data.

Last financial year, net overseas migration contributed 298,924 to population increase compared to 157,792 from natural birth.

Based on the 2006 census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the proportion of people who were born overseas is 22% with England and New Zealand representing the two largest overseas-born groups but the size of the European-born population has decreased.

China is now the third largest birthplace group relegating Italy to the fourth position. Vietnam, India, Scotland, Philippines, Greece and Germany are the other countries in the top 10 countries of birth.

The majority of this growth (66%), was due to net overseas migration, with the remainder (34%) due to natural increase (the excess of births over deaths).

The total number of births registered for the year ending 30 September 2009 was 296,300, 0.3% fewer than the previous year. The total number of deaths registered over the same period was 141,800, 0.3% more than the previous year.

Preliminary figures show that net overseas migration for the September quarter 2009 (72,300 people) was 1,600 people lower than for the September quarter 2008 (73,800).

For the year ended September 2009, net overseas migration was 297,400 people, 3.1% or 9,000 people higher than the previous year.

On a regional basis, Western Australia registered the highest increase (2.9%) followed by Queensland (2.7%), Northern Territory (2.3%) and Victoria (2.2%).

New South Wales had an increase of only 1.7%, lower than Australian Capital Territory’s 1.9%.

South Australia and Tasmania registered an increase of 1.3% and 1.0%, respectively.