English Transcript

Cập nhật 13/10/2008 18:05:00

For decades, Australian schoolchildren have learned the poem, "I love a sunburned country". Its closing line reads: "the wide brown land for me". But that seems to be changing. A new Immigration Department report shows a record number of people moved permanently abroad last year. And most of the 77,000 Australians who left the country were professionals and tradespeople of working age. It's a setback for the government, which is working hard to attract more trained professionals to Australia.

Presenter: Tom Fayle
Speaker: Senator Chris Evans, Australia's Minister for Immigration and Citizenship



EVANS: Look, I think you can put this in a negative light, but I think that would be wrong to do. I mean what we know now is that we live in a global economy and we've got record numbers of people coming into the country and we've got record numbers of Australian permanent residents that are going overseas, both permanently and for periods of more than a year. But I think that's just a reflection of the way the world is now. People are mobile. Their skills are transferable and they take up opportunities overseas and I think we've just got to deal with the modern reality.

FAYLE: Now you say that, but the figures are slightly up on 2006 your report indicates, but more than 300 per cent up on the number of people leaving in the 1980s. What's driving that?

EVANS: Well as I say, it's a more mobile world. We've also got record numbers of people coming into the country and net migration over 200,000 on the positive side. I think what I think we've got to take out of this is that we have a much more mobile work force, that people are prepared to move overseas permanently, to follow employment opportunities. You will find Australians working all through Asia, the US, the UK in a professional and trade roles. But as I say equally, we're attracting a lot people as well and I think it's just a reflection of the global economy. We now have a global employment market and people will pursue opportunities. But as you say Australians have always sort to get some overseas experience and to go away for a year or two. Increasingly it seems reasonable numbers are going for what they indicate is permanently, but also we've still got 100,000 or so who are going for a year or more, more of the traditional basket of people who look to get one or two years experience overseas.

FAYLE: And among those people who indicate that they are going overseas permanently. Is there much research done as to why they actually intend to stay?

EVANS: No, we don't have that sort of research. It's one of the things that I am keen to do. Our research base in this country has really fallen away. I am keen to rebuild that. So we've got to make the point that these are Australian citizens and permanent residents. Some of them, for instance, are going back to New Zealand, will actually be New Zealanders, who are returning home and who have been permanently resident here. But I just think it reflects the fact that people move between countries now much more readily, much more easily than they used to and there's a large movement between Hong Kong and Australia, large between Singapore and Australia. So I think it's just a reflection of changing world. Our net migration to Australia is very high. It's at record levels. But I've been trying to make the point to people in Australia, that it's a much more complex world than it used to be. It's not just about permanent one way migration to Australia. People are coming, people are going, people are coming temporarily, people are going temporarily...and some of our old concepts about immigration have to be abandoned. It's a much more complex two way process than it ever used to be.

FAYLE: So it would be counterproductive then, in your view, to attempt to persuade people to stay?

EVANS: No, no I don't think so. I think I spoke to the Business Council of Australia a few months ago about these issues. They are very concerned about it, because they do fear they are losing some of their best. And like all countries, you have got to fight to hold onto your best and brightest. I know a number of major corporations, I know a couple of the accounting firms for instance, have actually started offering their Australian-based employees three years in an overseas office as part of their way of trying to retain them. It's a very competitive market and good people get job offers. And one of the things that some of the large companies are doing are saying well if you want to work in our UK office or our Dubai office for three years, we'll facilitate that to try and keep them in the company and have them return to Australia when they have had their overseas experience.

FAYLE: Now on a separate note, Minister, may I ask you about the two boatloads of unauthorised migrants who have recently been picked up by the navy. The Australian Opposition is saying that people smugglers are testing the waters after recent changes to Australia's asylum seekers regulations. What is going on?

EVANS: Well fundamentally, people smugglers have been testing the possibility of bringing people to Australia for 15 years or so. This is not a new phenomena. What we've had recently is a couple have got through, with very small numbers of board, a total of 26 passengers. But that reflects what's been going on constantly for many years now.

Last year, we had five boats arrive with 148 people on board. So far this year, we've had two boats with 26 people on board. This isn't driven by policy change in Australia, as it is driven by economic opportunity for people smugglers. We're determined to try and stamp out people smuggling. It preys on people, it puts them at great risk of going out on open seas on small boats. We want to stamp it out and we're doing our best to do that and we will continue to renew our efforts. But I don't think this is to do with policy, it's much more to do with people smugglers looking to take what they see as an opportunity for profit.