Immigration overhaul will address Australia’s future needs

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Associate Professor Chris F Wright

Associate Professor Chris F Wright

Australia’s migration system is broken. It is a truth universally acknowledged by government, business, unions and academics.

The system has inadequately addressed Australia’s skills needs while exposing migrants to wage theft and mistreatment. A significant government-commissioned report published this week offers a bold plan that just might fix the broken system, if the government implements it.

Over the past 25 years, Australia has declined from an exemplary nation of immigrants, where workers from abroad were treated equally to Australian citizens, to a guest worker state where migrant workers are at significant risk of mistreatment and marginalisation.

The recommendations outlined in the Review of the Migration System, chaired by Martin Parkinson and released by Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil, promise to return Australia to its once world-leading model of equality and inclusion for migrants.

The Parkinson Review recommends restoring three principles central to the success of Australia’s pre-1996 immigration policies: a tripartite approach involving unions and employer associations in policy design and implementation, universality through all migrants being subject to same regulations, and mobility by allowing migrants to move freely between employers.

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