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利好消息！！！反对减少移民！！！澳洲主流媒体终于说出了大家的心声！！！
I highlighted some favourable points for your convenience.
Business REJECTS Migrant Cut
Patricia Karvelas, Political correspondent From: The Australian April 07, 2010 12:00AM
THE Coalition's plan to cut immigration numbers has thrown it on to a collision course with major business groups, which say they will fight the policy over fears it could threaten Australia's productivity.
The strong business reaction came after The Australian yesterday reported comments by opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison that immigration was out of control and net overseas migration, which was running at about 300,000 people a year, needed to be cut back.
Although Mr Morrison said he would retain the skilled migrant intake, that failed to appease business.
Business Council of Australia president Graham Bradley said big business would resist any attempts to cut immigrant numbers. "You must look at this issue on a multi-year dimension, and not overreact to short-term statistics," he said.
Australian Industry Group chief executive Heather Ridout said the plan was ridiculous, and would be strongly opposed by business.
The Coalition's tough line on immigration came as it toughened its stance on illegal boat arrivals, paving the way for an election fought on the twin issues of immigration and asylum-seekers and against the background of concerns about whether Australia can support a population of up to 36 million.
Tony Abbott said on Monday a Coalition government would bring back temporary protection visas and return asylum-seekers to their homelands if they no longer had a fear of persecution. That would stop them jumping the queues of asylum-seekers in foreign refugee camps.
As the immigration debate intensified, Border Protection Command intercepted the 36th asylum-seeker boat this year. It carried 22 passengers and one crew member.
The arrivals will place further strain on the Christmas Island detention centre, which was yesterday operating above official capacity. There were 2060 detainees on the island, 20 more than the detention centre's limit, with 101 more asylum-seekers and crew en route to the island after interceptions in the past week.
Mr Morrison said Treasury's projection that Australia's population would hit 35.9 million in 2050 was based on the large rise in net overseas migration, which included temporary workers and students, since the Rudd government took power. He said the situation needed to be reversed.
Ms Ridout said a debate about population was important.
"We are glad the opposition is committed to skilled immigration, but we urge them to commit to a robust and sustained program," she said.
"We would be disappointed if they cut immigration to levels below the average of the last 40 years . . . We would face skills shortages, it would put pressure on the rest of the population and lead to higher taxes."
Mr Bradley said the BCA had consistently advocated strong planned population growth including immigration. "You've only got to go to states like Western Australia to see the desperate need for additional skills in our economy to take full advantage of our natural resources and the development that we can build on the back of that," Mr Bradley said.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief Peter Anderson said the need for a constant supply of skilled migrants would only increase.
"It should be apparent to both sides that our economy needs a strong supply of both permanent and temporary workers," he said.
Mr Morrison disagreed with big business that a strong economy depended on high levels of immigration. "We believe it is important to focus on productivity and not use population growth as a proxy for achieving gains in those areas," he said.
"We are committed to economic growth but we don't want to see that at the expense of the lifestyle and quality of life of Australians."
Trade Minister Simon Crean said productivity could slip if Australia did not continue to invest in skills and, in the meantime, provide a skilled base to keep the economy growing.
Australian National University demographer Peter McDonald said the opposition plan ignored the immigration level needed to meet Australia's strong labour demand.
Additional reporting: Paul Maley
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发表于 7-4-2010 19:19:42
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