Migrants plan aims to cut load on cities

MIGRANTS will have to live in regional Australia for three years before being granted permanent residence under a Morrison Government plan that keeps 20,000 people out of capital cities each year.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will today reveal a sweeping overhaul to Australia’s population strategy, which also includes reducing the overall migrant intake by 120,000 over four years.

And in a bid to divert pressure from city universities and help build dying regional communities, scholarships will be given to Australians and international students to study at regional universities.

The blueprint, which will be driven by skilled demand and businesses needing workers, will be buttressed by a pledge today by Mr Morrison to build the infrastructure needed for the changes and current demands.

The two new regional visas – one for students and one for skilled workers – increases migrant numbers for regions to 23,000, almost three-fold on 2017-18 numbers.

It is good news for regional towns in Queensland, the Northern Territory and Adelaide, especially for farmers struggling to get much-needed farm workers and those needed for fruit picking.

To boost the number of skilled people into the regions, 18 extra occupations have been listed to open the program to more migrants. As well as dentists and anaesthetists, a number of agricultural jobs are listed.

The latest Census showed that 83 per cent of the overseas-born population were living in capital cities. The Government believes that people will be lured to the regions if it makes it easier to get permanent residency.

The migration cut of 15 per cent means there will be a ceiling of 160,000 extra people allowed into Australia each year. There is no guarantee it will meet this number.