SYDNEY: Australia proposed on Thursday overhauling its immigration system to speed up getting highly skilled workers into the country and smoothening the path to permanent residency.
The federal Labor government said the current system used to select skilled migrants — the points test — will be modified to identify people with the correct skill sets the Australian economy needs going forward.
“Our migration system ... is broken. It is failing our businesses, it is failing migrants themselves. And most importantly, it is failing Australians. That cannot continue,” Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said in a speech at the National Press Club.
Australia has been competing with comparable countries, like Canada and Germany, to lure more skilled migrants, with the surge in demand exacerbated by an aging population.
The government said the visa process for high-skilled professionals will be made quicker and easier, while steps would be taken to retain international students.
Temporary skilled visa holders, who had been denied even the opportunity to apply for permanent residency, will be able to do that by the end of this year, O’Neil said. But it will not add to Australia’s annual intake of permanent migrants, she said.
In September, Australia raised its intake of permanent migrants to 195,000 this financial year, up by 35,000, to help businesses battling widespread staff shortages and pledged more staff and funds to speed up visa processing.
From July 1, the government said it would raise the migrant wage threshold of temporary skilled workers to A$70,000 ($46,250) from A$53,900, stuck at the same level since 2013.
Around 90 percent of all full-time jobs in Australia are now paid more than the current threshold, leading to the exploitation of migrant workers, the government said.
Australia to overhaul immigration system, smooth entry for skilled workers
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Australia to overhaul immigration system, smooth entry for skilled workers
- Home affairs minister: ‘Our migration system ... is broken. It is failing our businesses, it is failing migrants themselves’
- Australia has been competing with comparable countries, like Canada and Germany, to lure more skilled migrants
US bombers join Japanese jets in show of force after China–Russia drills
- Japan says US B-52 bombers flew with Japanese F-35s and F-15s
- South Korea and Japan have scrambled jets during Chinese and Russian drills
TOKYO: US nuclear-capable bombers flew over the Sea of Japan alongside Japanese fighter jets on Wednesday, Tokyo said, in a show of force following Chinese and Russian drills in the skies and seas around Japan and South Korea.
Japan and the US “reaffirmed their strong resolve to prevent any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force and confirmed the readiness posture of both the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) and US forces,” Japan’s defense ministry said in a press release on Thursday.
The flight of two US B-52 strategic bombers with three Japanese F-35 stealth fighters and three F-15 air-superiority jets was the first time the US had asserted its military presence since China began military exercises in the region last week.
The display follows a joint flight of Chinese and Russian strategic bombers in the East China Sea and western Pacific on Tuesday and separate Chinese aircraft carrier drills that prompted Japan to scramble jets that Tokyo said were targeted by radar beams.
The encounter drew criticism from Washington, which said the incident was “not conducive to regional peace and stability” and reaffirmed that its alliance with Japan was “unwavering.”
Both Japan and South Korea host US forces, with Japan home to the biggest concentration of American military power overseas, including an aircraft carrier strike group and a US Marine expeditionary force.
China denied Tokyo’s accusation, saying Japanese jets flying near the carrier had endangered its air operations south of Japan.
South Korea’s military said it also scrambled fighter jets when the Chinese and Russian aircraft entered its air defense identification zone on Tuesday, an area that extends beyond its airspace and is used for early warning.
Regional tensions have risen since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi triggered a dispute with Beijing last month with her remarks on how Tokyo might react to a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan.
China claims democratically governed Taiwan and has not ruled out using force to take control of the island, which sits just over 100 km (62 miles) from Japanese territory and is surrounded by sea lanes on which Tokyo relies.
