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Coalition's population plan for Australia

The Morrison government has released a key policy for managing population growth across Australia, aiming to encourage migrants to settle in regional areas.

Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs David Coleman (L) and Prime Minister Scott Morrison (R) attended press conference in Melbourne.

Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs David Coleman (L) and Prime Minister Scott Morrison (R) Source: Vatsal Patel/SBS Gujarati

IMMIGRATION

* Restrict annual permanent migration to 160,000 annually for at least the next four years - down from 190,000 and roughly in line with actual intake last year.

* 23,000 regional visa spots where skilled workers would have to live and work in regional Australia for three years before applying for permanent residency - split between 9000 places in the employer-nominated stream and 14,000 for the state and territory-nominated stream (up from 8500 and a two-year requirement).

* "Regional" areas are anywhere outside of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

* Almost two-thirds of Australians live in cities of more than a million people (all capital cities bar Hobart, Canberra and Darwin).

* Analysis shows 80 per cent of people who had visas requiring them to live in the regions for two years were still there after five.

* No change to numbers in the family visa stream.

MORE FUNDING

* $7 million for compliance to make sure regional visa holders stick to the rules.

* $15,000 annual scholarships over the next four years for 4720 Australian and international students to study in regional areas. International students who go to a regional university will be allowed to work in Australia for an extra year after graduating.

* $75 billion for road, rail and air projects around the country - details to come in the April 2 budget.

* $1 billion for specific "congestion busting" road projects.

* $71 million in grants for social cohesion programs, $10 million in funding for community language schools, and $3 million for a second round of fostering innovation grants.

POPULATION PLANNING

* Investigate fast train links for Melbourne-Shepparton, Sydney-Newcastle and Brisbane-Sunshine Coast.

* Continue to work on city and regional deals to drive economic development in specific areas.

* Set up a Centre of Population to deliver a central, consistent and expert perspective on population growth, and improve data collection and research.

* The plan has been in development since Scott Morrison took over as prime minister in late August.


2 min read

Published

Updated

Presented by Justin Sungil Park

Source: AAP



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