9 IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS
9.1 Migration Framework
9.1.1 Immigration, Multicultural and Population Research
9.1.2 Immigration Program
9.3.2 On-shore Protection
9.7 Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship
The 1996-97 migration program planning figure is for 74 000 places, compared with 83 000 in 1995-96. The Coalition election promise was to maintain levels. The Government has argued that the 1996-97 level is close to the average over the past 4 years of 72 550.
Of more significance than the 9000 place reduction is the intended shift in the balance of categories which comprise the program. The focus of Budget measures across the broad range of portfolio programs is to reduce, by about 25%, the proportion of family migration and thus enable expansion in skilled categories. Preferential family migration (spouses, fiances, non-working age parents and dependent children) has traditionally been both essentially demand-driven, and strongly supported by immigrant groups. Recent research, including the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia, has shown family migration to be associated with high unemployment rates and other short-term costs.
The 1995-96 planning levels included 58 000 places for family migration, 50 500 of which were for preferential family migrants, compared with 23 000 for skilled migration. The 1996-97 planning figures are for 44 700 places for family migration, 36 700 of which will be preferential family, and 28 000 for skilled migration.
Increased Budget costs are those associated with implementing measures including: a 2 year probationary visa for all spouse/fiance sponsorships (the Labor Government introduced a 2 year waiting period for on-shore spouse and fiance permanent visas in 1991); a 2 year cohabitation requirement for de facto relationships; more rigorous testing of bona fides; a new balance of family test for parents (a majority of children will have to live in Australia); a requirement for sponsors of preferential family members to be Australian citizens; and wider application of existing assurance of support measures (these will apply to spouses and dependent children as well as parents). Savings are to be derived from fewer people coming under the category over the next few years, and increased immigration fees and charges (closer to full cost recovery).
Immigrant representatives have argued that the measures are discriminatory, in that people from poorer Asian countries will be unable to meet the increased immigration charges, and in that it will be harder for people from the more recently arrived Asian communities to bring out their families. On the other hand the measures have been criticised, including by Monash academic Professor Bob Birrell, as insufficient and likely to slow temporarily rather than stem chain migration processes that are currently underway. In this case savings anticipated across a range of programs over the longer four year term would not be fully realised.
This measure closes the Melbourne based operations (essentially the contracting out of research projects to academic researchers) of the Bureau of Immigration, Multicultural and Population Research (BIMPR). The immigration statistical services will remain with, outposted library functions will return to, and research functions will be consolidated within the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs in Canberra. In-house monitoring of immigration programs and policies will continue. Statistical data, including the usual statistical publications covering migration outcomes and trends and population flows, as well as the key Longitudinal Survey of Immigration to Australia, will continue to be available to independent research institutions.
The BIMPR has been viewed by critics of immigration as an advocate of the immigration program, and as a creature of the Labor Government (as its predecessor, the Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs, was viewed as a creature of the Fraser Coalition Government). The Bureau has been generally credited by commentators in the field with increasing public understanding about immigration issues, and particularly of the economics of immigration, and thus contributing to a higher standard of immigration debate in recent years. However the Bureau's publications have also been widely criticised as being of limited value to the policy process, and, in the social policy area in particular, as of limited use: often lacking in objectivity and impractical as regards findings and recommendations.
This measure cuts across a number of programs and sub-programs.
The 1996-97 Humanitarian Program will comprise 12 000 off-shore places, including 2000 places brought forward from 1996-97 into 1995-96 and 2000 on-shore places as a result of people determined as meeting United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) refugee criteria in Australia. The 1995-96 Humanitarian Program outcome, from a planning figure of 13 000, was 15 000.
The 1996-97 program comprises 4000 off-shore Refugee places (for those identified as refugees and in need of resettlement in a third country by the UNHCR), 2800 Special Humanitarian places (for those who are not considered by the UNHCR to be refugees, but who may be suffering hardship or violation of human rights), and 5200 in the Special Assistance Category (for those in vulnerable situations overseas who have close links with Australia).
The net reduction of 1000 places is in places for Special Assistance humanitarian migrants. The initial 1995-96 planning level for this category was 6200, with 668 brought forward from 1996-97.
The Special Assistance Category was introduced in 1991-92 to allow more flexible responses to changing situations overseas. Strong community or family support is an important requirement. The cutback has been explained by the Government as reflecting an easing of conflicts and tension in areas of the world addressed by the category. There has also been concern in recent years that the Special Assistance Category was becoming a de facto family reunion category.
In a departure from previous years, should on-shore grants of refugee status exceed 2000, the excess will be absorbed into the off-shore programme, thus reducing the number of places available for refugees and humanitarian migrants seeking resettlement from overseas.
This measure is to be introduced at the same time as additional resources for refugee determination processing, in the order of $9.6 million, intended to speed up the refugee determination process, are being made available.
Asylum seekers were previously able to access Asylum Seeker Assistance while they appealed initial unfavourable decisions. They will now only able to obtain this assistance for the time it takes for the primary decision to made by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. On average, the primary decision-making stage has taken about 8 months, and, with appeals through the independent Refugee Review Tribunal and the courts, the entire decision-making process has taken on average about 2 years. Asylum Seeker Assistance in 1995-96 cost $16 million and with increasing numbers of on-shore applications, costs were expected to rise to $22 million in 1996-97.
According to the Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Budget kit, this measure is anticipated to discourage non-bona fide applicants from pursuing ill-founded claims for refugee status in order to extend their time or obtain work rights in Australia. Refugee support groups have claimed it may also discourage those genuinely in danger of persecution from pursuing legitimate claims for asylum through all available channels. Those seeking to appeal unfavourable primary decisions and without means of support will have to turn to community refugee support groups, whose grants are generally insufficient to enable them to support people throughout the lengthy appeal process, and/or to Church or State-based organisations.
Significant savings have come from a reduction to base funding in the order of $1.5 million for the Office of Multicultural Affairs function, following the absorption of the Office, formerly in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, into the new Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, and its downsizing from Division to Branch status. Ethnic community representatives have viewed this move as indicative of a downgrading of Commonwealth support for multiculturalism. The Government has argued that its commitment to multiculturalism is reflected in its renaming of the former Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs. A National Multicultural Advisory Council will be retained to advise on multicultural policy.
While funding for the multicultural function has been reduced, there are obvious efficiencies and advantages for the function in the merger. The new Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship program comprises functions important to the multicultural objective of enabling migrants to fully and equitably participate in the economic and social life of Australia (including English language tuition under the Adult Migrant Education Program, interpreter and translation services, and grants to ethnic community organisations to assist the settlement process) and constitutes a significant proportion of the total Portfolio Budget. The merging of multicultural and citizenship functions in the new Department suggests that emphasis is likely to be placed on national unity aspects of multiculturalism as public policy.
Significant initiatives which were announced in the election context include an additional $5 million in 1996-97 for anti-racism education, with a further $5 million, pending review, in 1997-98 (in lieu of continuing Commonwealth support and development of racial vilification legislation); $0.7 million over the next 3 years for the establishment of an Australian Council of Citizenship, which will examine ways of making citizenship, including naturalisation ceremonies, more meaningful (in lieu of the former government's 4 year, $27 million citizenship promotion and marketing campaign, launched in November 1994); an additional $20.7 million over 4 years from 1 July 1997 in grants to enable ethnic community organisations to better assist newly arrived migrants to settle; and increased funding of $17.6 million over 4 years from 1 July 1997 for adult English tuition under the Adult Migrant Education Program (for which the State-based Adult Migrant Education Services will have to compete through tendering). These measures reflects changes of direction and emphasis in the areas of multiculturalism and citizenship prefigured by the Government before its election.
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