MCIMA Communique
Canberra, Friday 14 August 2009
The Ministerial Council on Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (the council) met in Canberra on 14 August 2009, hosted by the Government of the Australian Capital Territory. The meeting was chaired by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, and was attended by ministerial representatives from state and territory governments. The Northern Territory provided apologies.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Settlement and Multicultural Affairs, the New Zealand Minister of Immigration, the New Zealand Minister for Ethnic Affairs and the Australian Local Government Association attended the meeting as observers.
Key outcomes of the meeting were:
Migration
Immigration, properly planned and managed, makes a significant contribution to the long-term future of Australia. The council received a briefing on the Australian Government's development of a long-term planning framework, to include consultation with key stakeholders. The council reaffirmed its commitment to share information, discuss issues, develop options and consider proposals regarding the national migration program, through renewing the terms of reference for the Commonwealth-State Working Party on Skilled Migration.Temporary migration continues to be crucial in assisting to meet skill shortages. However, the council noted the global economic crisis had affected the volume of temporary skilled work visas. The council was briefed on recent reforms to the temporary skilled work visa program to make the program more responsive to market needs, while protecting the employment and training opportunities of Australians and the rights of overseas workers. The council also noted a briefing on the current immigration situation in New Zealand.
The council noted a majority of jurisdictions have taken up the Australian Government's offer to participate in a health waiver scheme for four onshore skilled visa subclasses. This will enable waiving of the health requirement in cases where there is a public interest for an applicant to gain permanent residency in Australia.
Multicultral Affaris and Settlement Services
The council reaffirmed its commitment to activities to address racial intolerance and deliver a whole-of-government cultural diversity agenda. The council noted that an evaluation of the National Action Plan to build on Social Cohesion, Harmony and Security (the NAP) had recently been completed. The council also noted the responses of the Australian Government and the states and territories to deal with recent violence against international students and the effect of the situation in Sri Lanka on the community.
The council considered the report of the Working Party on Settlement Issues and suggestions to improve the successful integration of permanent and temporary entrants into Australian society, including translating and interpreting services. A range of priorities were noted by the council and governments agreed to continue to work cooperatively together on collating further evidence to inform future work on priority areas.
The council also received briefings on a range of other matters, including national research projects and initiatives concerning cultural diversity.
URL: http://www.minister.immi.gov.au
/media/media-releases/2009/ce09073.htm
Last update: 14 August 2009 at 16:40 AEST