Responding to Negative Public Attitudes towards Immigration through Analysis and Policy: regional and unemployment dimensions

Abstract

This paper examines two key dimensions of the impact of immigration for Australia and related policy aspects. One is sub-national and the other is national. They are, first, the regional location aspects of immigration and second, the aggregate unemployment implications of immigration. These are chosen so as to focus on two important issues that condition public attitudes towards immigration. In relation to the first, there is a common positive view that channelling migration towards regional areas assists regional development and reduces pressure on metropolitan areas. The paper reviews regional concepts embodied in Australian immigration policy and the ways in which visa arrangements have implemented policies geared towards the regional dispersal of immigrants. Using official data, it discusses the demographic and economic impacts of these policies, and in particular, considers the extent to which immigrants to regional Australia remain there over the longer-term. In relation to unemployment, a common concern is that immigrants take jobs from local workers. The paper examines-using statistical regression methodology-the relationship between immigration and national aggregate unemployment in Australia. It evaluates the net consequences of immigration for both existing residents and new arrivals together. The paper concludes that, with good policy design in each case, regional location encouragement can be effective for immigrants and that immigrants need not take more jobs than they create. The analysis demonstrates that mixed methods approaches to important social science issues can be productive, and helpful also for policy. Evidence, such as that presented in this paper, offers a powerful basis from which to counter negative public and political discourses surrounding immigration in contemporary Australia.

International migration and employment growth in Australia, 2011–2016

“…Meeting these demands will have spin-offs in other sectors. The work of Golebiowska, Elnasri and Withers (2016) indicates that migration plays an important role also in regional development.…”

Spaces of well‐being and regional settlement: International migrants and the rural idyll

“…Research into international migrants' experiences in regional areas has shown that retention is challenging (Boese et al, 2018;El-Bialy & Mulay, 2015;Golebiowska et al, 2016;Hugo, 2008;Krivokapic-Skoko & Collins, 2014;McDonald et al, 2008;Taylor & Stanovic, 2005). Key factors believed to underpin retention include:…”

“…• access to employment, quality of work, and opportunities for upward mobility (Adult Migrant Education Service (AMES) and Deloitte Access Economics, 2015;Boese, 2015;Dufty-Jones, 2014;Golebiowska et al, 2016;Lichter, 2012;Piper, 2017);…”

“…A raft of visas, known collectively as the State Specific and Regional Migration (SSRM) Scheme, has targeted skilled and business migrants. These visas mandate a minimum period of residence in regional Australia 1 and typically follow a two-step process: temporary visa recipients become eligible for permanent visas after meeting regional residence requirements, usually of 2-3 years (Golebiowska et al, 2016;Hugo, 2008). In late 2018, the Prime Minister extended these regional residence requirements to 5 years for some employer-or family-sponsored skilled migrants (News.com.…”

Supporting EAL students in regional education contexts: “It creates a huge workload and often times disappointment”

“…However, the majority of studies on mainstream teacher beliefs capture the views of teachers teaching in metropolitan areas which geographically tend to have more exposure to linguistic and cultural diversity (Mellom et al, 2018;Pulinx, van Avermaet, & Agirdag, 2017). With the recent push for regional settlement in countries, such as Australia (Golebiowska, Elnasri, & Withers, 2017;Taylor, Bell, & Gerritsen, 2014), there is a need to explore teacher and principal beliefs regarding EAL students in schools in regional areas to ensure that incoming EAL students have access to adequate support. It is important to note that this paper did not investigate teacher and principal beliefs on Aboriginal students who speak dialects of English or Aboriginal languages, albeit its increasing importance in regional areas (see for example, Disbray, 2016).…”