Australia to Cut Number of Migrants Under New Population Plan

(Bloomberg) -- Australia will cut its cap on migration by 15 percent and issue new visas that require some skilled workers to live in regional areas, in a population plan Prime Minister Scott Morrison says is needed to alleviate pressure on big cities.

The nation’s annual migration ceiling will be reduced from 190,000 places to 160,000 -- a figure in-line with 2017-18’s 12-month intake, which was the lowest level in a decade. As many as 23,000 people will need to live and work in regional Australia for three years before being able to access permanent residence.

“Managing population growth isn’t just about the migration intake,” Morrison said in a statement on Wednesday. “It’s about infrastructure, it’s about city and regional deals, it’s about our congestion-busting projects, removing traffic bottlenecks.”

Morrison’s government, which trails in opinion polls ahead of elections due in May, wants to address concerns by voters in major cities. These include fears the immigration that’s helped boost Australia’s population by 50 percent over the past three decades has also triggered over-burdened infrastructure, expensive housing and low wage growth. Still, he’s also aware that drastic cuts to the intake could jeopardize a core driver of economic growth.

Australia has long had a problematic relationship with immigration, despite being one of the most multicultural countries in the developed world. Following last Friday’sattack that killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand -- a racially-motivated act of terrorism allegedly perpetrated by an Australian man -- attention has turned to whether politicians, including those from Morrison’s own party, have been stoking fears about migrants and refugees.

Regional Jobs

The government says the new regional visas are needed because there are an estimated 47,000 job vacancies outside the big cities. It comes after the government said in October that just under half of the total intake would be affected by the planned measures.

“The changes will mean migrants will stay in regional Australia longer-term, as they will build ties to a particular location through workforce participation and community involvement, easing the pressure off our congested cities,” Morrison’s statement said.

A Lowy Institute survey released in July showed 54 percent of Australians think the total number of migrants coming to Australia each year is too high, while 30 percent said it’s adequate and 14 percent too low.

Australia’s so-called points system for assessing potential migrants sees skilled workers ranked by their need, and they must also pass health and character tests. Those becoming citizens must first pass an English-language quiz on the nation’s constitution, history and values.

About 70 percent of migrants are skilled workers and 30 percent are sponsored through their families in Australia. The nation also allocates additional places for refugee resettlement, capped at 18,750 people in 2018-19.

Morrison dismissed suggestions the four-year cut to the immigration cap has been driven by political expediency, even as populist fringe parties call for more drastic cuts. The prime minister has faced criticism from welfare groups and some rival lawmakers that his tough policy of detaining asylum seekers attempting to arrive in Australia by boat in offshore camps is inhumane.

“We won’t be distracted from the task at hand to make Australia’s cities and towns even better places to live,” he said in the statement “People who want to play politics or run scare campaigns from these announcements are taking Australians for mugs.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Scott in Canberra at jscott14@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Chris Kay

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