New immigration powers cause concern


A bill introduced to parliament last week would give the Immigration Minister significant new powers, enabling him to clear our a huge backlog of visa applications.

There are currently 147,000 valid applications for general skilled migration in the processing pipeline. More than a quarter of the people in that queue are foreign students who have applied for permanent residency after graduating from Australian colleges and universities. Many qualified as cooks and hairdressers, occupations the Federal Government says are no longer in short supply in Australia.

The bill before parliament would enable the Minister to cap the number of visas issued each year to particular groups, like cooks or hairdressers for example, and when that cap is reached all other applications in the queue are "terminated": they will be treated as if they had never been made.

If the applicant is in Australia, their bridging visa will cease and they will have twenty eight days to pack up and leave.

While the proposed visa capping bill has not been much reported in the mainstream media, news has spread rapidly through migration websites and international student networks, provoking considerable anxiety.

Since this program was broadcast the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee has sought to extend its inquiry into the Visa Capping Bill. The Committee now expects to hand down its report on 11 August 2010 (rather than 15 June).

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/nationalinterest/stories/2010/2918752.htm

Gillard ha spromised him a front bench position to shut him up.


What I fail to understand is that Gillards was/is equally resopnsible for all of labors bugger ups, she implemented defended then scraped the policies.

Are ppl too stupid to realise that labor is still labor just with a different bus driver the same route is in place the same people showing her the directions.

FFS pople need to wake the bugger up and realise just how bad and incompetant labor has been in the last 2.5 years.

Diabolical yet ppl will still vote for them.

God help us if labor get over the line.

Oh and the ETS is in the back pocket ready to take money out of yours.

So vot elabor you have no one to whinge about when the ETS rips $$$$$ out of your pocket.

And I suppose Rudd quietly bestowing powerful new immigration powers to his bench and imposing the Visa Capping Bill before he left the building was just a matter of convenient timing?

ahhahahaha

Oh, the immigrants are gonna love this...and have absolutely no idea how this will come into effect as soon as Labor/Gillard wins the election. IF it wins the election.

Basically, either way they are out the door, Labor or Liberal.

Now we know why both sides are reluctant to challenge each other on immigration/refugee policy.

The left are too busy focusing on Tony's "Work choices"...to realise how their Gillards keeper (Rudd)  secreted  this new bill before parliament, this and managed to keep it out of our Main Stream Media in the lead up to this coming election before he left the building.

Like you say, it's the same machine behind the party, be it Rudd or Gillard, nothings changed when it comes to their partys core policies,bills... especially those being withheld from the MSM in the lead-up to a federal election.

I still liked Gillards white power suit yesterday, just think a white hood would have completed the whole look. *smirks*


So...there goes Labors immigrant/minority vote if this gets out.... ...Should Gillard not revoke this Bill prior to this election...and or alert voters to her intentions concerning these changes?

Of which will contradict her "sustainable population" promise, if seen to be keeping all of Rudds policies/Bills except for this one which stands to offend our international students and immigrants most if passed, .....education being our second largest services export and all.

Wow, what a mess!


..Lest we forget Gillards no-frills campaign having ran out of puff ($$$) before it even got off the ground.

And Skippy, Labors idea of environmental and climate  policy is this....

"Keep Australia beautiful, sent the f-ers home"...And with Just 28 days notice.....  

Wow!

I'm surprised you missed this one skip, the international pro-immigration/refugee groups (outside Australia this is) have been all over it like a rash and very anxious about it all, but for some reason, despite this fact, it's escaped the attention of our main stream media here in Australia...and our refugee advocates, pro-immigration groups also it seems, or else they would be demanding Gillards stance on this secreted policy/bill before our parliament.

Ignorance is bliss?



Re-Climate,... Neither Labor or Liberal have put anything meaningful on the table, so again, it's a non-event and merely a pre-electoral pacifier for those gullible.

See, climate policy = another new tax, and a majority of Australians are still ruffled by the Climate gate affair/email leaks this and aren't overly convinced the world is indeed ending due to human error.
This is why Labor directed their attentions towards super-taxing mining company's.....as it had to come from somewhere, how else did you think they were going to recover the deficit from having irresponsible squandered our surplus?

Her lazy half-azzed Climate policies will keep the G20 climaphiles and neurotics at bay though, ...those too nervous to vote for the Greens.
Either way, Climate isn't high on either party's agenda at this point in time, ..it's a hush topic much like refugee/immigration ...

Though, this may change as the election draws nearer, and when the mud-slinging starts.

Something  to look forward to eh?



Personally, I think environment is a critical issue, with increasing levels of dioxin and heavy metals  contaminating our waterways, soils, produce... which stands to impact on generations of Australians for many years to come, particularly if we become a "Big Australia" over night.
More people = more industry, More industry = more pollution... our marine life is at risk, as are those who enjoy seafood, this or rely on it as a primary source of food.

Did you know that increasing levels of environmental pollutants, ie dioxin and mercury has been linked to a whole host of neurological disorders, alzheimers, dementia, autism?
Counties with more industry and larger populations diagnostic stats are consistent with their increased levels of these harmful environmental pollutants.

One of the unfortunate down-sides to a "BIG AUSTRALIA"...but lets just focus on Climate shall we...

A bigger Australia guarantees increasing environmental pollution, ....so if environment and climate truly was of concern to our Rudd for all the right reasons, then why was he all for the very thing that stood to exacerbate the problem?

His population target only ever stood to make our environment sicker, but again, lets just focus on Climate change, as this means he must have cared about our environment.



http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/consumers/keeping-food-safe/special-care-foods/sydney-harbour-seafood/#Facts-About-Dioxins-and-Port-Jackson-(Sydney-Harbour/Parramatta-River)i