Should some migrants wanting to call Australia home be required to live regionally?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The federal government thinks so, announcing in March the amount of permanent visas on offer annually would be reduced to 160,000, with 23,000 of those places being granted under two new visas on the condition holders live outside capital cities for three years.
But is compulsion beneficial or harmful to the cause?
The topic was discussed by a panel at La Trobe University in Wodonga on Thursday night, revealing the answer is complicated.
Tried and tested
The idea that migration is key to advancing regional Australia is not new.
Historian Bruce Pennay agreed with the statement that part of the Border region's growth can be attributed to migrants being directed to the area post-World War II.
"The Bonegilla Reception Centre was a government-endowed agency ... the big driver of regional city development is government placing government institutions in them," he said.
"The Albury-Wodonga growth centre experience was built on the notion there were going to be 400 public service jobs each year moved here, and it would grow to an unbelievable size of 300,000.
"It could, if those public servants came."
Dr Pennay noted the government's new measures had potential to support primary producers, but said they aimed more for congestion-busting in the city than anything else.
Wodonga mayor Anna Speedie said any plan to increase the twin cities' population had to have money attached for infrastructure and support agencies.
"It's making sure we have the right programs that help people settle, making sure we have sporting clubs that will welcome new migrants and understand cultural differences ... the community-building programs are so important," she said.
Social cohesion
Without support, migrants leave, anthropologist Helen Lee explained.
"Since 2014, I have been working on a project involving Pacific Islanders in the Sunraysia area," she said.
"Some of the people going there have got qualifications they haven't been able to use.
"They are stereotyped as fruit-pickers and that's pretty much the only work they can get.
"And although a lot of community members do try and welcome new migrants, the overall experience I've had reported to me is of racism and discrimination, and that continues for the children of migrants."
Dr Lee said added to this were housing issues and isolation.
"Even if you make people move to regional areas, if they have negative experiences, they will move out as soon as they can," she said.
"The problem for migrants is often not having a substantial community of their own ethnicity and/or religion in the region.
"One of my colleagues who works at the Bendigo (La Trobe) campus did some work around 457 visas in the 2006 to 2008 period, when people were pushed to move to regional areas.
"Ninety per cent of them moved out after their mandatory period was over; they hadn't been made welcome and they hadn't put down roots."
This anecdote is in contrast to the picture painted by Population Minister Alan Tudge in his speech last week about the two new visas.
"We already have conditional visas for new migrants to settle in areas outside the big cities, such as the 489 visa ... new migrants must live outside the big capitals for two years as a condition," he said.
"There is an exceptionally high compliance rate with that visa condition: 99.8 per cent.
"But do people then leave after two years and go to Melbourne or Sydney afterwards?
"No they don't. In fact, over 85 per cent of people who settle in a regional area or smaller city are still there five years later."
Hurdles to clear
So what is the quality of life like for the migrants that come to the Border and stay here?
It's different for each person.
In Swathi Mahendran's case, red tape was a big barrier in the beginning.
"I moved to Australia at the end of 2015 after getting married in India," she said.
"I completed my postgraduate in psychology before moving and I had to assess my degree against the Australian Psychology Society's standards.
"It took a year for my degree to be assessed and during that period I wasn't able to find a job.
"In spite of having a master in psychology, I had to enrol myself in a certificate four in community services in order to get a job.
"I felt really lonely ... I was waking up everyday and feeling like I had no purpose in this new place."
A volunteering opportunity with Wodonga Council, which led to leadership mentoring, was the turning point for Mrs Mahendran, who became the Albury-Wodonga Entrepreneur of the Year for 2018.
"The skills I have gained from these programs helped me to build a rapport with people," she said.
"Coming from an entrepreneurial background, I was able to become an export agent for India and I also currently work as a provisional psychologist."
Similarly, a highly-qualified migrant in the audience at the forum spoke about not being able to find work in architecture, or even in a government agency due to not being an Australian citizen.
Cr Speedie agreed that there needed to be a big shift in government policy in that regard.
"If we want a skilled workforce here, then we actually have to be willing for them to transfer their qualifications ... appropriately check it off, but not make it so difficult you can't get work," she said.
"The cost to people, not just in dollars, is not OK."
Some left behind
The experience of skilled migrants, who will be the people eligible for the 23,000 geographically-restricted visas, can be very different to that of the people coming to Australia under other conditions.
The Migrant Workers' Taskforce, which was established following a Fairfax-ABC investigation into 7-Eleven, released its report last month which stated "the problem of wage underpayment is widespread".
Wodonga Filipino Skilled Migrant Association's Berlin Guerrero spoke about the document in the forum, including its statement that "as many as 50 per cent of temporary migrant workers may be being underpaid".
"Forms of restrictions included the employer holding on to the visa," he said.
"Why is Australia not a signatory to the international convention protecting the rights of migrant workers?"
La Trobe Honorary Research Fellow Sallie Yea said increased government management could actually be harmful.
"They (the government) tend to place restrictive conditions on migrants that can heighten migrant worker vulnerability," she said.
"If you're vulnerable, you haven't got great choices to start with and you're more likely to accept jobs that don't have clearly specified conditions or contracts.
"People around this region really need to know the parameters of, and the degree to which, exploitation of migrant labour workers occurs here."
Dr Yea agreed with comments that there was discrimination of culturally-diverse groups in Albury-Wodonga and Dr Lee added that it was not just a regional issue.
"It's really frightening what's happening in Australia now, because we are going backwards really fast," she said.
Related:
Making ground
Where there is stigma, there are also people dedicated to eradicating it.
Whatever the outcome of the government's population plan, pockets of the community are making a concerted effort to attract and welcome new residents.
Chairman Daniel Nadebaum said about 30 members of the Assyrian community in Western Sydney had visited the area twice.
"The aim of our committee is to promote out town and in a lot of ways we've achieved our goal; we've identified a community interested in Walla," he said.
"We feel there's a strong relationship there and we're very close to resettlement.
"We are very conscious of being able to support any new residents and have done a fair bit of research into support services that are available."
Ultimately, the Border has what it takes to support migrants, Mrs Mahendran said.
"We have a high sense of community and we always want the best for our people," she said.
"I am highly grateful for the opportunities I have received."