Australia's newly installed Immigration Minister, David Coleman, has indicated he'd like to revamp regional visas.
In an interview with SBS News Mr Coleman said some towns are keen to see more migrants.
“There are a number of different regional visa classes at the moment and one of the things I'm assessing is the effectiveness of each of those programs and potential ways of improving those programs, so there is a greater regional match to those regional needs,”Mr Coleman said.
Currently, there are several visas available to migrants to fill skills shortages in rural and regional Australia.
Minister Coleman says p laces like the town of Warrnambool in Victoria, the Goldfields region of Western Australia and the entire state of South Australia are asking for thousands of migrants.
The former Assistant Finance Minister holds the marginal Sydney seat of Banks and was recently elevated to the outer ministry after the Liberal leadership spill.
The immigration portfolio was separated from Peter Dutton’s Home Affairs ministry and given to Mr Coleman, along with Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs.
On the issue of Australian citizenship, the minister would not go into specifics about the government reviving plans to change the requirements to become a citizen.
The controversial plans to introduce a tougher English language test, increase residency requirements and require applicants to sign a so-called ‘Australian Values statement’ were quashed by the Senate late last year.
While he didn’t go into detail about English language requirements, Minster Coleman reiterated the importance of the language.
Minister Coleman says the government is “in consultations” about reintroducing elements of the legislation.
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