South Australia Premier Steven Marshall has urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to allow more skilled young migrants to enter the country to help regional areas.
Last year, Mr Morrison flagged his plan to cut Australia's permanent migration intake by about 30,000 due to public concern over congestion in the big cities.
Mr Marshall has called for the prime minister to consider expanding Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs) because states such as South Australia and Tasmania have vastly different needs to Sydney and Melbourne.
"What we’re calling for is a simplified pathway to further DAMAs, so we can get skilled migration to the areas where they’re most needed in Australia," he said.
This moved was endorsed by Business SA chief executive Nigel McBride.
"What we’re seeing is policy is being set at a national level, responding to the complaints out of Sydney and Melbourne, but don’t recognise the huge need not only in South Australia but right across regional Australia," he said.
The premier’s plan includes more incentives for international students, and looking at ways of keeping them here once they’ve finished their studies.
The immigration intake cap has been set at 190,000 since 2012-13. For most of those years, the real intake has nearly met the cap. But in 2017-18 the intake plummeted to its lowest level in a decade, with just 163,000 permanent arrivals – made up of both skilled and family visas.
Mr Morrison said he expected the cap would be lowered next financial year, due to a shift that will give the states the responsibility to set and justify their migration planning levels.
