A recent survey conducted on over 1,000 Australians found that 78% of them believe those who are living and working here on temporary visas should have stability so they can plan their lives.
Research has found that an overwhelming majority of Australians are in favor of granting migrants permanent residency if they have lived and worked for a number of years in the country.
The survey of 1,095 Australians found that 78% of participants believe those who are living and working in Australia on temporary visas should have stability so they can plan for the life they want.
A report conducted by the Migrant Workers Centre last year revealed a strong connection between workplace exploitation and temporary visa status, which argues for more pathways to permanent residency.
The recent survey found that 58% of respondents believe migrants fill skill shortages, and 33% believe they work in lower-paid jobs Australians wouldn’t want to do.
54% of those surveyed believe that migrants bring cultural diversity and 24% believe they counteract Australia’s ageing population..
You know what? Seventy-nine per cent of respondents agreed with the statement: “If migrants have been living and working in Australia, then there should be a pathway to permanent residency”. .
More than half of respondents (55%) agree with the statement, “Migrants should have the ability to plan for their future here no matter what type of visa they hold.”.
“Everyone should have the chance to plan for the life they want,” David Burke, legal director of The Human Rights Law Centre says.
“But the federal government’s visa system is keeping people in limbo and often unable to reunite with their family even when they have lived and worked here for years,” he said.
“These results show that people clearly recognise the injustice of policies that are leaving their neighbours, colleagues and friends stuck in uncertainty simply because of the visa they hold.”
Matt Kunkel, the chief executive of the Migrant Workers Centre, said Australia’s migration system currently relies heavily on temporary visas.
“What we are really missing out on is an opportunity to provide migrants with the stability to plan for the future, and providing them a permanent form of visa that allows them to settle down and build community with the rest of us,” he told SBS News.
“What we have seen with these temporary visas is really difficult circumstances for migrant workers in the workplace, but also a huge psychological toll of being permanently temporary – having to move from one temporary visa to another without the stability of settling down.”
He said that for a system that allows people to come to Australia on a temporary basis, “it is one-sided”. Such an outcome does not bode well for those looking to settle down.
Last November, the Migrant Workers Centre released a report that found 65% of temporary visa holders experienced wage theft and one in four confronted other kinds of labour exploitation.
91% of the workers surveyed were found to have experienced wage theft, and they arrived on a visa with no pathway to permanent residency.
“What this is showing us is these temporary visas are a real challenge, because where workers have permanent residency rights, or where they have a pathway to becoming a permanent resident, we are seeing less of these types of workplace abuses,” Mr Kunkel said on Wednesday.
“We need a rethink of our migration system that returns permanent migration to its core and allows migrant workers that are coming to this country to plan for the future and to have a genuine pathway to settle down and build communities with the rest of us.”
Mr Burke said two years of disruption to the country’s migration program due to the pandemic leaves Australia with an opportunity to “reset our approach to immigration”.
“Our political leaders should take steps to ensure this system reflects the values of the community by allowing migrants and refugees living in Australia to have a stable future,” he said.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has been contacted for comment.
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