Big city ban plan for new migrants

THE Federal Government is facing demands for details after reprising long-flagged plans to ban new migrants from living in Sydney and Melbourne for up to five years.

Population Minister Alan Tudge restated the proposal during a major speech yesterday as he stressed the need to ease congestion across road and rail networks in the nation’s most populous cities.

Overseas migration accounts for 60 per cent of Australia’s population growth, with nearly 90 per cent of skilled workers gravitating to Sydney and Melbourne, as well as almost all of the humanitarian intake.

Mr Tudge wants to use a carrot-and-stick mix of visa restrictions and incentives to encourage more people into smaller regions and towns.

“We are working on measures to have more new arrivals go to the smaller states and regions and require them to be there for at least a few years,” he said.

“In that time, the evidence suggests that many will make it their home for the long term.”

Labor’s employment spokesman Brendan O’Connor wants to establish an independent panel to investigate labour shortages in the regions and assess the impact of temporary foreign workers on Australian job hunters.

Mr O’Connor is concerned unemployed locals are being undermined by overseas labourers and fears foreign workers are being mistreated by unscrupulous employers.

He believes federal, state and local governments must co-operate to tackle congestion in major cities.

“Clearly, the idea that you just move people around out of capital cities – particularly when there are not job opportunities in those regions – is not a sufficient plan to ease congestion in our cities,” Mr O’Connor says.

WE ARE WORKING ON MEASURES TO HAVE MORE NEW ARRIVALS GO TO THE SMALLER STATES AND REGIONS AND REQUIRE THEM TO BE THERE FOR AT LEAST A FEW YEARS MINISTER ALAN TUDGE

“We need a much more considered approach to easing infrastructure pressures.”

The restrictions would only apply to about 45 per cent of new migrants, because 25 per cent are sponsored by specific employers and another 30 per cent are tied to family reunions.

However, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is not on board.

“I’m not about telling people where they should live, I’m about connecting people no matter where they live and building the infrastructure that is absolutely critical,” Mr Andrews told reporters.