Australia will cut its intake of migrantsfor the first time in a decade, the government said on Monday, amidconcern that skilled foreign workers could stoke resentment by takingjobs at a time of rising unemployment.
With a recessionlooming and the centre-left government expecting unemployment to reach7 per cent by mid-2010, Immigration Minister Chris Evans said theintake of skilled migrants would be reduced by about 14 per cent.
Australiagoes to the polls in late 2010 and immigration has been a charged issuein past polls, particularly following economic downturn.
Aleading migration expert, former government official Bob Kinnaird, saidrecord recent migrant arrivals in a fast shrinking job market wereleading to “highly combustible” conditions in regional areas, wheremany new arrivals had settled.[snip]
But six of Australia’s major tradingpartners are now in recession and economic growth has stalled. Thecountry moved a step closer to recession this month with the firstcontraction in eight years and the economy shrinking by 0.5 per cent.