Australia should cut permanent migrant intake: immigration expert

AUSTRALIA should cut its permanent migrant intake by at least half to protect local jobs, a veteran population ­expert says.

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AUSTRALIA should cut its permanent migrant intake by at least half to protect local jobs, a veteran population ­expert says.

The federal government will today release its planned 2017-18 migrant intake in the Budget, just weeks after its crackdown on the controversial 457 visa program amid concern about jobseekers.

Dr Bob Birrell said if the government was serious about protecting Australian jobs, it should also slash its skilled ­migrant numbers.

“The permanent program is annually delivering some 60,000 principal applicants compared with 45,000 in the 457 (temporary) program,” he said.

“Of those 60,000 permanents, the largest occupations are computer professionals with about 10,000 arrivals, 6300 accountants and 6800 engineers.”

Dr Birrell, who heads the Australian Population Research Institute, said Australians were struggling to get jobs in the aforementioned fields — with an average 30 ­applicants for each position.

“If the government was ­serious about its professed concern for Australian job seekers, you’d expect this to be reflected in the permanent program,” he said.

Last year, the program processed 189,770 people, including 128,550 skilled applicants and their families and 57,400 family reunion places. The vast majority were spouses or partners of Australian citizens.

Dr Birrell said that should be cut by at least half given the current economic climate.

But he said he was sceptical there would be any reduction at all.

“It’s a good test of whether there’s any real interest in local jobs, or that immigration is serving other goals like ­increasing the number of consumers,” he said.

Dr Birrell, who has turned 80, made his mark as a social researcher over decades as a top demographer at Monash University.

He coedited the influential university journal, People and Place, for 18 years and contributed to a key study into skilled migration by the Howard government.

Dr Birrell is also a member of the state Coalition’s Victorian Population Taskforce.

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@JMasanauskas