Giving an update on the visa-related issues, Mr Hawke asserted that the migration program is vital for addressing the labour shortage in the country as well as for reinvigorating the economy.
"Since the borders have opened now we have got 600,000 to 700,000 people who have come back into the country, which is quite a lot of people, but we are still probably about a million people short on temporary visa holders," Mr Hawke said.
Highlights:
- Immigration Minister Alex Hawke and Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs Jason Wood met the multicultural community in Melbourne
- 'We are still probably short of approximately a million people on temporary visas': Mr Hawke
- Mr Wood sends Vaisakhi greetings to the Indian community in Australia
The federal government last month announced that in this year's budget the migration program will focus on skilled migration by increasing it to 109,900 places, more than 30,000 places above 2021-22 planning levels. However, only 6,000 places have been allocated to the parent visa stream.
"It is worth reminding that we had some significant wins in relation to the migration program. Firstly, we have doubled the skilled visas that are available but also regional visas," Mr Hawk said.
He said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and border restrictions over the last two years, the country had missed out on welcoming foreign students, backpackers and temporary skilled migrants. However, this was slowly changing after the border restrictions were lifted this year.
Multicultural community group in Melbourne meeting Immigration minister Alex Hawke and Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs Jason Wood on Wednesday morning. Source: Supplied by Office of Jason Wood
"It's pleasing to see the increase [in temporary visa holders] week on week. But it still will be a year of recovery to get back to a pre-pandemic level of intake and that does not catch up on two years we have missed, which is why every single business owner here and everybody here says 'I can't find labour'," Mr Hawke explained.
"It [migration] is slower than usual but what we have done is made student visas free so we rebate fees when they arrive, and for working holidaymakers as well. We have sort of incentivised people to come here," Mr Hawke added.
Asked by an attendee if the government had any plans to expedite the Parent visas queue, Mr Hawke said the government was open to developing innovative ways to design visas for parents to make it easier for them to come and stay.
Multicultural community meeting which was held in Melbourne on 12 April. Source: Supplied by Office of Jason Wood
"That's what the prime minister actually said to me, design that visa and make an improvement, but it is true that parent visas is still a very big challenge. I am very committed to what we do next, how we can design improvements for more access even if they can't migrate," Mr Hawke responded.
Addressing the community, Mr Wood highlighted the role of multicultural communities in Australia.
He indicated that the government was keen to promote multicultural events after a gap of two years.
"Currently, the government is working on finer details on what grants would be made available for multicultural organisations to apply for their cultural events and festivals," Mr Wood said.
"Can I make a big point that if a group or organisation applies for these grants, they should follow the criteria. So many times people don't follow the criteria and have the letters of support too," Mr Wood said.
Mr Wood also extended his Vaisakhi greetings to the Hindu community in the country.
The other local members present were from Afghan, Chinese, and Sri Lankan communities.
Listen to the podcast in Hindi by clicking on the audio icon inside the picture at the top.
