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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-10-27 Daily Xml
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NEW MIGRANTS

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. J.S. Lee:

That the Social Development Committee inquire into and report on 'New Migrants' with particular reference to—

1. The number of new migrants settled in South Australia in the last ten years;

2. Their countries of origin, cultural background, religion and language;

3. The types of visas granted to them at the point of entry (e.g. refugees, skills migrants, business migrants, international students, etc.) and circumstances they choose to migrate to South Australia;

4. Their age groups, family structures, education/qualifications, skills levels, English language proficiency;

5. The types of support currently available to help the new and emerging communities understand their rights and obligations—whether new educational curriculum, training and employment pathways should be considered to help them acquire suitable skills for employment;

6. Their level of integration and adjustment to life in South Australia—identify which groups of new migrants are most vulnerable and at risk and how they overcome their personal and social barriers so that they can achieve greater social, education and economic participation in the mainstream community;

7. The suburbs or townships they reside and duration of their stay in South Australia and if they move, which state do they go to;

8. The overall social and economic impact of new migrants in South Australia;

9. Any other relevant matters.

(Continued from 21 July 2010.)

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (22:08): I welcome the motion that is before us, seeking to refer to the Social Development Committee a reference to inquire into and report on new migrants, with particular attention to those who have settled in the last 10 years, the various countries from which they have come and also the types of visas that they have been granted, whether they be refugees, skilled migrants, students and so on. I think it is very timely reference for our Social Development Committee because, as we have seen in recent weeks, there has been great controversy over one particular group of soon-to-be new arrivals in our state, with asylum seekers who will be coming soon to make their temporary, if not permanent, home in South Australia in Woodside.

Members will be familiar that this has been met with some degree of trepidation, fear and, I would say, racism from some quarters of our community. I would also point to those wonderful people such as the Hills Circle of Friends (who have stood up and said that they welcome these people with open arms and look forward to supporting them), the church groups, the community groups and the NGOs, who will in fact bear the brunt of ensuring that these people make a smooth transition into our community.

One thing that I wanted to highlight today is that having refugees come to Woodside is not, in fact, a new idea. While it may have more recently in our past been an Army centre, Woodside began as an immigration centre. Just after World War II, the Woodside Immigration Centre (also known as the Woodside Migrant Hostel, the Woodside Holding Centre, the Woodside Migrant Camp or, for those who apparently lived there, 'the camp') was located just outside the town of Woodside. In 1949 it was opened and, at its peak, it held about 3,000 migrants—women, children and men. They called it home, and many of them, of course, have gone on to make great contributions to South Australia.

Not being a native South Australian, I stumbled upon this information, and I did not realise that this was part of Woodside's history. I congratulate the UTLC which, in fact, did an oral history project on Woodside some years ago, when they recorded the stories of the people who had lived in 'the camp'. Many were taken to Germany from their countries of birth and, after the war, they were sent to Woodside for a new and safe life.

Many South Australians cannot claim to be Indigenous Australians. In fact, the vast majority of us, if we look back in our histories, have come from some other place at some stage at some time—some of us more recently than others. I think those of us who came at some earlier stage have a duty and a responsibility to welcome those who come after us and not pull up the ladder or shut the drawbridge, if you like, but share the wealth and the joys of the wonderful democracy that we enjoy in Australia and, in particular, what South Australia has to offer.

We would be much poorer without our migrant communities. When I worked for Amnesty International, I took great joy in standing up for the rights of asylum seekers and refugees in this country at a time when I believe that the dog whistle of racism was being blown very strongly. I also took great joy when somebody who had been accepted into our country as a refugee came into the office and met the people who had lobbied and campaigned for them. They would join Amnesty International because they wanted to help out with human rights abuses across the globe. These people were fresh out of detention centres in Woomera and Baxter, yet they still had the compassion to help fellow human beings across the globe.

Through the process of working in the NGO sector, I have worked with African communities. I have worked on women's human rights projects, and I know that these people can come from any walk of life. You do not have to be poor; to be a refugee, you simply have to have been persecuted. You may actually be quite wealthy or you may be quite poor. You may vote Liberal or you may vote Labor—I hope that they might vote Green—but you can vote and participate in our community, and I think that is something to be welcomed.

The diversity and the richness we gain as each wave of different new arrivals comes through can only add to the wonderful tapestry that we have in South Australia. I commend this motion to the chamber.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (22:13): The government is pleased to support the honourable member's motion with some amendments. I move to amend the motion, as follows:

Paragraph 7—Leave out this paragraph.

Paragraph 8—Leave out the paragraph and insert new paragraph as follows:

The research agenda of national bodies such as the Research Advisory Committee of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) in relation to the overall social and economic impact of new migrants in South Australia; and

The honourable member's motion and her speech demonstrate, I hope, that immigration and fostering our multicultural society are issues that have bipartisan or multipartisan support in this place. This government supports Australia's migration program and values the contribution that new arrivals make to our economy and the fabric of our community. This is a view shared by most other South Australians. The household survey undertaken as part of the measurement of targets for the SA Strategic Plan indicates that 90 per cent of South Australians believe that cultural diversity is a positive influence in our community.

It is important to remember that South Australia receives about 10,000 skilled and business migrants each year. These groups make up the vast majority of our new arrivals as, by comparison, we receive about 1,500 refugees and about 1,500 family reunion migrants per year.

There have been many studies on the positive impact of immigration and the contribution that new arrivals, who come from all corners of the world, have on our society and, in particular, on our economy. Multiculturalism is one of the most successful social policies of the modern era. It allows for all citizens to be respected for who they are, no matter where they were born, what language they speak, what religion they follow or what cultural traditions they value or practice. As a multicultural society, we aim to be cohesive and harmonious in that diversity. Our society thrives on that diversity of its citizenship: on the ideas, the initiatives, the desires, the hopes, the boldness and the enterprise that are driven by the multitude of cultures that define our society.

It also means that we share common goals about our country and society and that we value the contribution each and every one of us makes to our nation's prosperity. If I can borrow the words of the Hon. Chris Sumner from about 20 years ago, 'We are all Australians.' We share a common commitment to this country, to its democratic institutions and to its economic growth, prosperity and wellbeing. However, within that commitment everyone has a right to his or her individuality and unique heritage. Our aim should be to achieve a situation where that diversity is accepted as a natural part of our daily lives.

I am heartened to see that this motion which will direct the Social Development Committee to inquire into the experience of migrants and the contribution they make to our community will focus on the positive impacts of immigration and provide us with more information about the challenges, opportunities and issues crucial to ensuring that migrants find their rightful place in the Australian community.

In relation to the specifics of the honourable member's motion, I understand that the data sought in clauses 1 to 4 are readily available. In relation to clause 5, it is important that we have a full picture of how new arrivals are assisted to gain employment. Given the vast majority of migrants are skilled and business migrants, it might be assumed that their access to employment is largely unproblematic. However, we know from work undertaken by Multicultural SA that one of the four biggest issues for refugees is the inability to gain employment, and this inquiry will be able to look at the services available to assist this group, such as those provided by the Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology. Clause 6 will provide the committee with the opportunity to find out more about the experience of members of new and emerging ethnic community groups and also the service providers that work with them.

The government has proposed amending the motion to remove clause 7. We believe that the information being sought is not available as, for privacy reasons, the movements of migrants once they have settled in Australia is not collected. There seems little value in pursuing this angle when the data is not going to be available to the committee. The proposed amendments to clause 8 simply link the committee's investigation with the valuable work the commonwealth has done on these matters. There is a good deal of existing research, particularly on the economic impact, with Professor Graeme Hugo a leading researcher on this topic.

The government's amendments do not seek to restrict the terms of reference in any way; they simply tidy it up somewhat. If the government's amendments are unsuccessful, we are not going to die in a ditch for them, simply because, in reality, the Social Development Committee will find out for itself that the data sought in clause 7 does not exist and that the information required in clause 8 comes from the bodies mentioned in the government's amendments. I commend the motion with amendments to the council and I thank the honourable member for bringing forward this motion.

The Hon. J.S. LEE (22:18): Firstly, I would like to thank the Hon. Tammy Franks for her understanding, her compassion, her important contribution to the debate and for supporting the motion. I would also like to thank the Hon. Ian Hunter for his contribution, especially the bipartisan approach to developing a very vibrant multicultural South Australia in terms of supporting the motion. However, I wish to oppose the amendments and will outline my reasons for doing so. I know that, as Presiding Member of the Social Development Committee, the Hon. Ian Hunter will understand my views and agree to keep the full terms of reference as put forward without amendments.

The reason I oppose the amendment of deleting No. 7 is that the government is making an assumption that such data is not available. Whether or not this data is available will be determined during the independent inquiry process when the whole Social Development Committee has the opportunity to investigate whether or not this type of data can be obtained. I am sure the Hon. Dennis Hood and the Hon. Kelly Vincent in this chamber, who are also members of the Social Development Committee, would like to be given the option to explore whether or not this data is available.

Item No. 7 of the terms of reference is important because the locations of significant community groups in a suburb or township can impact on the social, economic and environmental dynamics of that area. It can also affect the level of services, such as schools, transport and community and service facilities available in that area.

The second part of the reference is there to help us track the destination data. I noted the privacy issue the Hon. Ian Hunter mentioned; however, we know that people migrate to South Australia and then, for whatever reason, migrate out of our state, but we do not know where they end up. Have they gone back to their country of origin or into another state? We do not know. It would be prudent to know why they come here and why they do not stay here.

I must admit that this could be a very difficult task to track, but let us give this reference the benefit of the doubt. Let us be open about calling for submissions to confirm whether or not this data is available. Perhaps someone, a federal agency or a research centre out there is already starting to develop a suitable model for tracking down destination data.

Deleting No. 7 as a reference is denying our right to explore and seek information that could be very important to changing government policies for a data collection framework. I ask for the support of all members in this council to oppose this amendment.

In relation to amendment No. 8, while I agree that the Research Advisory Committee of the Department of Immigration can provide some useful research data to the inquiry, we should not be restricted to seeking advice or submissions from only this department. We must not rely solely on one source and not open our minds to look at who else and what department—what other agency—can be called upon to make valuable contributions in this area. On that note, I hope that members of this chamber will also oppose that amendment.

I just want to make a few concluding remarks, Mr President. As members of parliament we have a duty of care to all South Australians, and this responsibility includes new migrants. I was very pleased to hear the Hon. Tammy Franks and the Hon. Ian Hunter supporting this motion. I am very grateful for that, as well as recognising that the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of migrants have provided a significant contribution to South Australia.

South Australia remains a gateway for newly-arrived migrants either by choice or through difficult circumstances—for example, asylum seekers or refugees. Most new migrants are very competent and resourceful when they land in South Australia, but other emerging communities might not be; therefore, this motion is timely, as the Hon. Tammy Franks pointed out.

I believe that members of this council will recognise that it is a priority for politicians, government departments and community groups to understand the level of integration and adjustment to life for new migrants in South Australia. For the healthy and robust development of a multicultural society, and for new migrants to achieve greater social, educational and economic participation in mainstream Australian community, I urge members to support the motion without amendment. Thank you.

Amendment negatived; motion carried.

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