Incremento de la inmigracion en Australia

Hola a todos,

El periodico The Australian abrio con un titular en donde se discute la posiblidadde incrementar la cuota de inmigrantes debido a la escasez de profesionales en ciertas areas.

MIGRANTS TO KICKSTART ECONOMY

Steve Lewis and Elizabeth Colman
March 03, 2005
THE Howard Government plans a dramatic increase in its migrant intake to the highest level in decades, as part of a bid to help plug the national skills shortage threatening economic growth.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone is pushing for a massive one-year rise of 20,000 in skilled places, taking the overall migration program to about 140,000 in 2005-06 – the biggest in nearly 20 years.
It comes amid warnings from the Reserve Bank, which lifted interest rates yesterday to quell consumer spending, that economic growth could be retarded by skills shortages, which would also force up the price of labour and fuel inflation.
Official figures yesterday also showed the economy grew over the past year at just 1.5per cent, including the worst quarterly growth rate in four years.
The Vanstone plan, which has yet to be formally considered by cabinet, would see the number of skilled migrant places rise to almost 100,000, compared with a forecast 77,100 this year.
«It’s a proposal for a dramatic increase,» one well-placed source said.
The migration plan is expected to focus on areas of greatest need, including doctors, mechanics, boilermakers, hairdressers, pharmacists and accountants.
Business groups have been urging the Government to relax restrictions on skilled migrants to address glaring labour shortages across Australia. Coalition MPs have also raised concerns at the difficulties many employers are facing in hiring workers in the bush.
Migration experts stress that the ageing population and the record levels of emigration and skills vacancies require a drastic increase.