Busy developer Aqualand Prestige has formally taken the next step in its expansion across Sydney's Lower North Shore, lodging a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) for its long-held Archer Street site in Chatswood.

The application covers <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/51-55-archer-street-chatswood-nsw-2067">51-55 Archer Street</a>, a 1,767 sqm amalgamated site on the eastern edge of the Chatswood CBD, where the developer is seeking approval for a 45-level mixed-use tower delivering 114 apartments, including a significant affordable housing component, alongside retail, commercial space and six basement levels of parking.

The SSDA marks the latest milestone for a project Aqualand has been quietly progressing over the past two years. The developer first secured the site for its Aqualand Prestige platform before undertaking an alternative design excellence process with PTW Architects, ultimately avoiding a formal design competition through the Housing Delivery Authority pathway.

The proposal has evolved considerably from Aqualand's original concept. The revised scheme has been designed around larger owner-occupier product, with an unusually high proportion of three and four-bedroom apartments, targeting the more affluent buyer profile, and downsizer, emerging across the North Shore.

<img alt="Archer St" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0171204c-5811-41b5-9b09-2335d1b7c3d0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-22%20at%208.52.48%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=6YTuxfq.puZo7k2wbfgemcO5K3QfXYGQ" />

The 114-apartment mix comprises six studios, 27 one-bedroom apartments, 18 two-bedroom apartments, 50 three-bedroom residences and 13 four-bedroom homes. A quarter of the building will be dedicated to affordable housing, well above the mandated 15 per cent&nbsp;

PTW has structured the building vertically, with affordable housing across levels one to six, premium apartments through levels seven to 31, duplex skyhomes on klevels 32 to 43, a penthouse on level 44, and a rooftop plant level above. Six basement levels will provide resident parking and servicing.

The tower is proposed to reach approximately 154 metres, placing it among a growing collection of residential high-rises transforming Chatswood's skyline.

Rather than competing purely on height, PTW says the design has been driven by creating a slimmer tower capable of delivering significantly larger apartments.

"The primary objective of this project was to create a distinctive building that stands out from the recently approved or built structures in the Chatswood area," the design report states, noting the structural efficiency allows greater investment into apartment quality and resident amenity.

Residents would have access to more than 450 sqm of communal open space including landscaped gardens, swimming pool, rooftop entertaining areas, fitness spaces, community gardens, children's play areas and barbecue facilities.

A major focus of the design has been the public domain.

The ground plane has been opened up through landscaped terraces inspired by Willoughby's sandstone ridges, with native planting, public seating, artwork, retail activation and a series of gathering spaces intended to soften what has traditionally been a hard commercial streetscape.

The landscape strategy references Blue Gum forests once common throughout the area, while incorporating Indigenous storytelling, public art and lighting installations to strengthen the connection to Country.

Chatswood has been one of Sydney's busiest apartment markets over the past 12 months, with a steady pipeline of both new project launches and fresh development applications.

Hyecorp recently launched Celine, a 122-apartment development just along Archer Street, while Changfa and Huirong Group are progressing The Anderson, an 84-apartment project on Anderson Street.

Develotek recently secured approval for a 101-apartment tower on Pacific Highway, while Tian An LFD received the green light for Hammond Greens, its apartment development on the edge of the Chatswood Bowling Club.

Commercial property developer FiveX is also making its move into the residential market. Last month it lodged plans for a 61-storey tower with 490 apartments, which, if approved, would become one of the tallest residential buildings in Chatswood.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-fivex-targets-chatswood-skyline-with-61-storey-tower-after-north-sydney-plans">First look: FiveX targets Chatswood skyline with 61-storey tower after North Sydney plans</a>

Aqualand is also expanding its development pipeline following the launch of its luxury residential brand, Aqualand Prestige. The developer has delivered a string of high-end apartment projects across Sydney's affluent suburbs over the past decade, most recently AURA by Aqualand on Walker Street in North Sydney.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=30959 project_image_fid=292863]

It has since quietly assembled its next wave of projects.

Earlier this year Aqualand launched Boronia in Roseville, a boutique 111-apartment development on Larkin Street. The project is one of the first significant apartment developments to launch in the suburb ahead of what is expected to become one of Sydney's most active new housing precincts under the NSW Government's Low and Mid-Rise Housing reforms, which allow greater density around train stations.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152095 project_image_fid=373685]

The developer has also lodged plans for a two-tower, 413-apartment development on Herbert Street in nearby St Leonards, further strengthening its presence across the Lower North Shore.

Beyond that, Aqualand remains behind the final stage of Barangaroo, where plans will deliver a five-hectare mixed-use precinct comprising new homes, retail, hospitality and community facilities, alongside a new Metro entrance and more than two hectares of public open space, completing the Barangaroo precinct.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/central-barangaroo-development-takes-big-step-with-concept-proposal-approval">Central Barangaroo development takes big step with concept proposal approval</a>

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-aqualand-joins-st-leonards-apartment-party">First look: Aqualand joins St Leonards apartment party</a> 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Joel Robinson

First look: Aqualand pushes ahead with Chatswood apartment tower as SSDA lodged for Archer Street

Mass timber is becoming an increasingly popular construction material in apartment developments, but Adelaide developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/otello">Otello</a> is taking the approach a step further.

At its new <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/flowe-bowden-18-gibson-street-bowden-sa-5007">Flowe Bowden</a> development, the exposed cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure isn't just about reducing the building's environmental footprint. It also forms the foundation of a broader wellness strategy, influencing everything from indoor air quality and natural materials to the way residents move through and experience the building.

The 115-apartment mixed-use development, designed by Melbourne-based architecture practice Fieldwork, will occupy a prominent island site opposite Bowden Village Reserve, combining one, two and three-bedroom apartments with retail and a dedicated wellness destination.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375528]

Wellness isn't confined to a gym or shared resident facility at Flowe. Instead, Fieldwork embedded the concept into the building itself.

The development has been split into two residential wings connected by a naturally ventilated central breezeway, replacing traditional enclosed corridors with open-air walkways that improve natural light, encourage cross ventilation and create more opportunities for neighbourly interaction.

"Rather than treating wellness as something that only happens on the ground floor, our response integrates it throughout the building, which led us to ask what it really means to design a healthy building," Fieldwork Director Quino Holland said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375531]

The building's architecture also reflects Bowden's industrial heritage. The lower podium references the area's historic brick and sandstone buildings, while the upper levels transition to exposed CLT, allowing the timber structure to become a defining feature throughout the apartments and shared spaces.

The use of mass timber sits alongside a range of sustainability initiatives, including a fully electric, gas-free design, rooftop solar and a targeted 5 Star Green Star rating.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375524]

Inside the residences, the focus remains on natural, durable materials. Blackbutt engineered timber flooring, exposed CLT ceilings, porcelain surfaces and warm timber joinery create a calming interior palette, while low-VOC finishes and responsibly sourced materials have been selected to improve indoor air quality.

Kitchens have been designed as the centrepiece of each apartment, featuring porcelain island benchtops, timber-look cabinetry and brushed steel tapware, with layouts that maximise natural light and ventilation.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375530]

The more traditional interpretation of wellness comes in the form of Level Eleven, a two-storey wellness club spanning the ground floor, mezzanine and first floor.

The facility will include a gym, yoga and reformer Pilates studios, Finnish and infrared saunas, magnesium hot and cold plunge pools, and dedicated recovery spaces. Unlike many residential wellness facilities, Level Eleven will also operate commercially, allowing the broader Bowden community to access the venue while giving residents exclusive membership benefits.

The ground floor has also been designed around everyday living. A café overlooking Bowden Village Reserve will activate the street frontage, while a bike workshop with tool storage, co-working space and dog wash has been incorporated to support daily routines and encourage interaction between residents.

"Flowe brings together my two biggest passions, creating places and creating healthier lives," Otello founder Daniel Harris said.

"We wanted to create something Adelaide hasn't seen before, a genuinely healthy building, where the way you live is lifted without even trying."

Flowe is positioned directly opposite Bowden Village Reserve and within walking distance of Bowden Railway Station and the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, placing future residents just minutes from the Adelaide CBD while remaining connected to one of the city's most established urban renewal precincts.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152022]

Otello launches wellness-focused Flowe Bowden with Adelaide-first mass timber apartment design

Not all apartment amenities are immediately visible.

Swimming pools, gyms, rooftop terraces and residents' lounges have long featured on buyers' wishlists, but as the way Australians live has changed, so too have the features that make apartment living more convenient.

Increasingly, buyers are placing value on the practical aspects of day-to-day life. Fast internet, EV charging, secure bike storage, flexible workspaces and parcel management are becoming just as relevant as lifestyle amenities, reflecting changing habits and expectations.

Online shopping has been one of the biggest drivers of that shift.

Australians spent a record $82.6 billion shopping online in 2025, with almost one in every four retail dollars now spent digitally, making parcel deliveries a routine part of everyday life rather than an occasional convenience.

For apartment residents, however, receiving those deliveries isn't always straightforward.

Without someone home to accept a parcel, deliveries can be redirected to a nearby Post Office, left in building foyers or common areas, or require building management to temporarily store packages. As apartment living continues to grow across Australia's cities, parcel management has become an increasingly important consideration for both residents and developers.

Australia Post's Parcel Locker network is one response to that shift.

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KPZ9j5FRdsQ?si=Qztc1dNP3ZvEIUhb" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

Rather than relying on home delivery, eligible parcels can be directed to a nominated Parcel Locker, where they're securely stored until collected. Once a parcel arrives, residents receive a notification through the AusPost app or SMS and can retrieve it using a one-time code or QR code at a time that suits them.

The network has expanded to more than 1,500 locations nationwide, with Parcel Lockers positioned at Post Offices, shopping centres, supermarkets, transport hubs and, increasingly, within or alongside residential developments.

That growing presence reflects a broader change in how apartment buildings are being planned.

Developers are increasingly considering the operational side of apartment living alongside traditional lifestyle amenities. Just as secure mailrooms, bicycle storage and EV charging have become more common inclusions, parcel management is emerging as another feature that supports everyday convenience.

It also helps preserve the arrival experience within a building. Carefully designed lobbies and communal spaces can quickly become cluttered when deliveries accumulate, while secure parcel solutions reduce the likelihood of missed deliveries or parcels being left unattended.

For buyers comparing apartments, these everyday details are becoming part of the decision-making process.

Location, floorplans and finishes remain fundamental, but the features that simplify daily life are carrying greater weight than they once did. As online shopping continues to shape consumer behaviour, secure parcel delivery is increasingly becoming another amenity worth looking for.

Parcel delivery is joining the apartment amenity checklist

Inca Property Group has lodged a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) for Dawn, a 53-apartment oceanfront development overlooking Mona Vale Beach.

The proposal, at 35-39 Darley Street East, would replace an existing 18-apartment strata building with a new owner-occupier-focused development comprising 53 two and three-bedroom apartments, including nine affordable built-to-rent residences delivered under the State's infill affordable housing scheme.

Positioned on a 2,679 sqm elevated site around 280 metres from Mona Vale Beach, the development has been designed to maximise panoramic ocean views while responding to the site's sloping topography.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/inca-property-group">Inca Property Group</a> Managing Director Josh Thompson said the State Significant pathway provided greater certainty for projects of this scale.

"This State Significant pathway gives the team real certainty to progress <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/dawn-35-39-darley-street-east-mona-vale-nsw-2103">Dawn</a> through to completion," Thompson said.

"It allows us to acquire a one-off site, design it carefully and deliver the right offering for the suburb, assessed by the NSW Government's planning department."

The project is one of the first developments in the area to be assessed under the NSW Government's Low and Mid-Rise Housing policy, with the site sitting on the edge of the policy's designated inner area.

The proposal includes three basement levels providing 124 car spaces, alongside a range of resident amenities including a swimming pool, gym, sauna, wellness facilities and private plunge pools for selected ground-floor and penthouse apartments.

<img alt="Dawn" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="fc1a1daf-0ce4-4f12-9076-b1fa553c7a91" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-21%20at%208.42.11%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=4GZ9h.gpNkTljbxyAET8Jfhv51XUamDm" />

Thompson said Dawn had been designed specifically for owner-occupiers and downsizers, a buyer profile that has driven demand across Inca's recent Upper North Shore developments.

"The majority of buyers in our recent North Shore projects have been downsizers, and we are learning exactly what this market is looking for. Beyond the location itself, we have included resort-style amenities to deliver a genuine lifestyle offering," Thompson said.

Located within walking distance of Mona Vale Beach, the town centre, Mona Vale Golf Club and the Royal Motor Yacht Club, Dawn represents Inca's first Northern Beaches project following the sell-out of Tara on Park in Waitara and Ellis Residences, currently under construction in St Ives.

Construction will be undertaken by Inca's in-house construction arm, GOP Constructions.

Dawn is the latest major apartment proposal for Mona Vale, with the suburb emerging as one of the key beneficiaries of the NSW Government's new Low and Mid-Rise Housing policy.

New developer One Living, led by industry veteran Joseph Scuderi, recently secured a site on Mona Vale Road, on the border of Mona Vale and Pymble, where it is planning around 140 apartments.

IPM is also planning its third project in Mona Vale, significantly increasing the scale of its previous developments with an 82-apartment proposal at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/159-167-darley-street-west-mona-vale-nsw-2103">159-167 Darley Street West</a>, opposite Bayview Golf Course and less than 800 metres from Mona Vale town centre.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/one-living-enters-sydneys-new-apartment-market-with-northern-beaches-site-acquisition">One Living enters Sydney's new apartment market with Northern Beaches site acquisition</a>

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-ipm-plans-third-mona-vale-project">First look: IPM plans third Mona Vale project</a>

First look: Inca eyes Mona Vale with State Significant DA for Dawn apartments

Seasoned Victorian apartment developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/central-equity">Central Equity</a> has logged more than $400 million in sales in its luxury apartment project Palmera Residences at Northcliffe on the Gold Coast.&nbsp;

Central Equity Director Karl Kutner said the sales result reflected a combination of location, product quality and delivery certainty with the project already under construction by building powerhouse Multiplex.&nbsp;

"Surpassing $400 million in sales since launch is a significant milestone and an outstanding endorsement of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/palmera-residences-gold-coast-18-garfield-terrace-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Palmera Residences</a>,” he said.&nbsp;

"We believe one of the key reasons for this strong result is the confidence purchasers have in knowing the project is under construction with Multiplex. Buyers are increasingly looking for certainty. They want to know that the project they commit to today will be delivered by an experienced team with a proven track record."&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365782]

Kutner said it was clear there was still high demand for luxury projects that offered certainty of delivery.&nbsp;

“We are in a market where many residential developments have faced delays due to rising construction costs, labour shortages and financing challenges,” said Kutner.&nbsp;

"But having construction underway has provided our buyers with resounding confidence backed by more than 40 years of development delivery by Central Equity combined with construction by one of Australia's most respected construction companies."&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365785]

Central Equity is one of Australia's most experienced privately-owned property developers. Over more than four decades, the company has delivered in excess of 85 residential developments including 10,000 apartments and many thousands of stand alone homes.&nbsp;

Located on Garfield Terrace at Northcliffe, between Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach, Palmera Residences occupies one of the Gold Coast's most sought after beachside locations. The development has been designed to appeal to owner occupiers seeking premium residences that combine generous living spaces and resort style amenities.&nbsp;

Palmera Residences will feature an exceptional collection of resort style amenities, including two swimming pools: a generously sized family pool with safe shallow zones for relaxed recreation, and a 20 metre lap pool positioned to maximise all day sunlight.&nbsp;

Residents will also enjoy exclusive access to wellness and recreational facilities including a magnesium pool, sauna, yoga studio, expansive fitted gymnasium, resident lounge, outdoor BBQ’s&nbsp;and indoor and outdoor dining areas, together with a dedicated concierge and luxurious hotel inspired entrance foyer.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365767]

A unique feature at Palmera Residences has been designed to enhance the Gold Coast lifestyle which includes both indoor and outdoor gymnasium facilities, together with thoughtfully designed indoor and outdoor dining and entertaining areas. A corner café has also been incorporated to provide residents with a destination for their everyday needs.&nbsp;

Kutner said buyer demand had been broad based with purchasers attracted from interstate as well as throughout South East Queensland.&nbsp;

"We're seeing strong interest from owner occupiers, lifestyle buyers and people relocating to the Gold Coast. Many purchasers have been searching for a premium beachside residence where quality, design and delivery are equally important."&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365771]

Kutner said the sales milestone was an important achievement, but the focus remained firmly on delivering an exceptional development.&nbsp;

"While reaching $400 million in sales is an important milestone, our priority remains delivering a project that exceeds purchaser expectations,” he said.&nbsp;

"Palmera Residences has been designed to become one of the Gold Coast's landmark residential addresses, and we look forward to welcoming our purchasers to their new homes."&nbsp;

There are a limited number of residences remaining in selected configurations with pricing from $2,950,000 to $8,950,000. Palmera Residences is also crowned by expansive penthouses with wrap around views.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=108274]

Construction certainty and strong buyer demand drive major sales result for luxury Gold Coast development

Palmera Residences fly out the door as sales pass $400 million

Immigration

<html><body>
GUEST OBSERVATION
Kristina Keneally, Labor’s home affairs spokesperson, is calling for a <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/do-we-want-migrants-to-return-in-the-same-numbers-the-answer-is-no-20200501-p54p2q" target="_blank" style="font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.15999984741211px;">reset on migration</a> as we emerge from the coronavirus crisis.
She noted in an article over the weekend that migration had been responsible for “over half of Australia’s economic growth” since 2005.
However, she argued that in a post-COVID environment with a sluggish economy, we need to focus instead on skilling up Australian workers to perform the jobs in the health, hospitality and other industries that have been the focus of skilled migration in recent times.
Many economists <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/migrants-don-t-actually-threaten-australian-workers-jobs-new-analysis-reveals" target="_blank">disagree</a> with Keneally’s connection between migration and the availability of local jobs. They point out that migrant workers contribute to overall economic growth, leading to a net increase in new jobs available for local workers.
There is also a risk that, despite her best intentions, Keneally’s rhetoric of “Australians first” will feed nationalist, anti-immigration sentiments that have no relationship to the economy and job opportunities.
<h2>A review of our migration intake is overdue</h2>
Keneally is right to call for a review of “the shape and size” of our migration intake, although not in the way she was suggesting.
At the top of this review should be a consideration of the balance between the two major streams of our migration program – skilled migrants and family migrants.
Current immigration policy favours skilled over family migrants, significantly underestimating the importance of family for the well-being and potentially the productivity of new migrants, as well as Australia’s long-term national interests.
In <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook45p/MigrationFlows" target="_blank">1995-96</a>, permanent migration was comprised of 58% family, 25% skilled and 17% humanitarian migrants. A decade later, the overall migrant make-up had changed dramatically: 62% skilled, 29% family and 9% humanitarian.
These proportions have remained about the same ever since. In <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-stats/files/report-migration-program-2018-19.pdf" target="_blank">2018-19</a>, there were 109,713 migrants (62%) in the skilled stream, 47,247 (27%) in the family stream and 18,762 (11%) in the humanitarian stream.
At the same time, <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/all-work-no-stay-australia-s-shift-towards-temporary-migration" target="_blank">temporary migration</a> of short-term skilled workers, working holiday makers, international students and New Zealanders on temporary special category visas has risen dramatically to over 1.2 million in <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-stats/files/temp-entrants-aust-31-dec-2016.pdf" target="_blank">December 2016</a>.
If all temporary migrants with work rights had a job, they would constitute over <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-27/fact-check-one-in-ten-workers-temporary-visas/9572062?nw=0" target="_blank">10% of the Australian workforce</a>.
<h2>Immigration is about relationships</h2>
Preferencing skilled migrants over family migrants is the inverse of the US, where most migrants come via <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/05/17/key-facts-about-u-s-immigration-policies-and-proposed-changes/" target="_blank">family connections</a>. Unlike Australia, this also includes the potential for migrants to <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/family/family-us-citizens/bringing-siblings-live-united-states-permanent-residents" target="_blank">sponsor siblings</a>.
What is sometimes lost in Australia, with a single-minded focus on migration to boost the economy, is that immigration is not only about economic growth. It is also about relationships.
Permanent migrants are future citizens. Migration builds community, and the ability of migrants to sponsor their broader family will deepen their connections and commitment to Australia.
The family migration program enables Australians to sponsor parents and children living overseas, partners, and in some cases their remaining relatives.
One of the effects of our focus on skilled migration has been the increase of new migrants with no extended family in Australia.
Although skilled worker visas allow for partners and children to accompany them, there is no provision for extended family. This makes these migrants potentially more vulnerable and isolated, less committed to Australia and, <a href="https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/our_work/ICP/IDM/RB24ENGWEB.PDF" target="_blank">some have suggested</a>, less productive as workers.
If they were allowed to enter Australia, these extended family members could offer emotional support and practical assistance to their loved ones working here, such as child care.
Most temporary migrant workers, meanwhile, have no entitlement to be accompanied by any family at all. Only some international students can have family accompany them as a support person while they <a href="https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-finder/study">study</a>.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332277/original/file-20200504-83779-o1m3c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
Kristina Keneally says Australia needs ‘a migration program that puts Australian workers first’. Lukas Coch/AAP
<h2>A growing waiting list for partners and parents</h2>
The difficulty skilled migrants have sponsoring their parents to migrate to Australia provides a dramatic example of just how restrictive current family migration options are.
In 2018-19, just 1,218 non-contributory parent visas were granted out of tens of thousands of applicants. The waiting period is <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/new-twist-to-parent-visa-waiting-periods-will-get-longer_1" target="_blank">at least 30 years</a>, longer than many of these parents have left to live.
The <a href="https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/parent-103#About" target="_blank">home affairs website</a> no longer provides waiting times, stating only
family migration visas are in high demand. It might take many years for this visa to be granted.
The waiting time for partner visas for all Australian citizens and permanent residents has also grown as the number of allocated placements has been cut. The home affairs <a href="https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/partner-onshore/permanent-801" target="_blank">website</a> currently says 90% of applicants will be processed in 21 months.
Migration numbers are destined to drop dramatically as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21. When the economy and our borders open up, there is an opportunity to reflect on what is the best balance of skilled and family migration.
Attracting the most accomplished skilled migrants will undoubtedly continue to be a driver of migration policy.
However, in choosing numbers in the skilled and family streams, it is also vital the government factor in the role of extended family for the well-being and productivity of migrant workers, as well as the importance of family for community cohesion and a migrant’s sense of connection and commitment to Australia.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137783/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alex-reilly-99355" target="_blank">Alex Reilly</a>, Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-adelaide-1119" target="_blank">University of Adelaide</a>
This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-it-is-time-to-rethink-our-immigration-intake-to-put-more-focus-on-families-137783" target="_blank">original article</a>.
</body></html>

j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Yes, it is time to rethink our immigration intake – to put more focus on families

<html><body>
GUEST OBSERVATION
After weeks of pressuring the government to do more to support temporary migrants who fall outside the criteria for government support, the opposition took a surprising stance in <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/do-we-want-migrants-to-return-in-the-same-numbers-the-answer-is-no-20200501-p54p2q" target="_blank">The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald</a> on Sunday.
Labor immigration spokesperson Kristina Keneally called for a rethink of our migration program and asked:
when we restart our migration program, do we want migrants to return to Australia in the same numbers and in the same composition as before the crisis?
She said Australia’s answer should be “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/do-we-want-migrants-to-return-in-the-same-numbers-the-answer-is-no-20200501-p54p2q" target="_blank">no</a>”.
To me, as an economist, the answer should be a resounding “yes”.
Keneally’s piece covered a lot of ground – in addition to making claims about whether or not permanent migrants take the jobs of local workers (<a href="https://www.ceda.com.au/CEDA/media/General/Publication/PDFs/TemporaryMigrationAppendix.pdf" target="_blank">they don’t</a>) she broached the topic of reconsidering our temporary migration intake and held open the possibility of further lowering our permanent intake.
Migration is a complex often convoluted area of policy
<h2>Temporary migrants can’t just turn up</h2>
Ms Keneally’s comments imply that coming to Australia as a temporary migrant is easy.
As the following (rather long) flowchart indicates, it is anything but.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332569/original/file-20200505-83745-19sk25m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332569/original/file-20200505-83745-19sk25m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
<a class="source" href="https://www.ceda.com.au/CEDA/media/General/Publication/PDFs/190709_CEDATemporaryMigration_FullReport_FINAL_1.pdf" target="_blank">Ball, J 2019 Improving the current system, Effects of Temporary Migration, CEDA report</a>
Temporary migration is uncapped: there are no in-principle limits on the number of temporary migrants who can come here. This is by design, so the program can meet the skill needs of our economy at any given time.
However, the government has a number of tools it uses to contain the program and target the right skills.
Keneally makes the point that the arrival of migrants has made it easier for businesses to ignore local talent.
But there are requirements that Australian businesses to tap into the Australian labour market before hiring from overseas.
She is right when she says unions and employers and the government should come together to identify looming skill shortages and deliver training and reskilling opportunities to Australian workers so they can fill Australian jobs.
But no matter how good our foresight and our education and training systems, we will always have needs for external expertise in areas of emerging importance.
Training local workers for projects that suddenly become important can take years, during which those projects would stall.
<h2>Permanent migrants don’t take Australian’s jobs</h2>
Keneally says Australia’s migration program has “hurt many Australian workers, contributing to unemployment, underemployment and low wage growth”.
Australian research finds this to be untrue.
Research I conducted for the <a href="https://www.ceda.com.au/CEDA/media/General/Publication/PDFs/TemporaryMigrationAppendix.pdf" target="_parent">Committee for the Economic Development of Australia</a> updating research coducted by Robert Breunig, Nathan Deutscher and Hang Thi To for the <a href="https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/assets/documents/hilda-bibliography/working-discussion-research-papers/2015/migrant-intake-draft-supplementc-1.pdf" target="_blank">Productivity Commission</a> found that the impact of recent migrants (post 1996) on the employment prospects of Australian-born workers was <a href="https://crawford.anu.edu.au/files/uploads/crawford01_cap_anu_edu_au/2018-05/policy_note_-_immigration.pdf" target="_blank">close to zero</a>.
If anything, the impact on wages and labour force participation of locals was <a href="https://www.ceda.com.au/CEDA/media/General/Publication/PDFs/TemporaryMigrationAppendix.pdf" target="_blank">positive</a>.
<h2>Flexibility gives us an edge</h2>
Australia’s migration program is the envy of other countries. Indeed, its success has prompted Britain to consider changing its system to an Australian skills-based system <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uks-future-skills-based-immigration-system" target="_blank">assessed through points</a>.
Temporary migration is certain to look very different over the next few years than it has over past few. That’s its purpose – to adapt to changing circumstances.
It is difficult to see how a sustained cut in temporary arrivals could assist our recovery.
The bridge to the other side of this downturn will depend on migration. It will depend on us continuing to welcome migrants.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137779/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gabriela-dsouza-782281" target="_blank">Gabriela D'Souza</a>, Affiliate, Monash department of business statistics and econometrics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065" target="_blank">Monash University</a>
This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-slowing-australias-population-growth-really-the-best-way-out-of-this-crisis-137779" target="_blank">original article</a>.
</body></html>

Is slowing Australia's population growth really the best way out of this crisis?

<html><body>
EXPERT OBSERVER 
<div>Permanent and long-term arrivals into Australia totalled 844,960 over the year to November, up 2 per cent from a year earlier, but just a notch lower over the past two months. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Net of departures, total arrivals were around 297,000, implying population growth of around 380,000 or 1½ per cent after accounting for natural population growth (births minus deaths). </div>
<div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2020/1/20/A1.jpg" target="_blank">Click here</a> to enlarge: </div>
</div>
<div><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2020/1/20/A1.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Asian century Tourism was still romping along until November, on the back of the Asian century.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2020/1/20/A2.jpg" target="_blank">Click here</a> to enlarge: </div>
<div> </div>
<div><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2020/1/20/A2.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div>And short-term international education arrivals hit yet another record high at 619,100 over the year to November. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2020/1/20/A3.jpg" target="_blank">Click here</a> to enlarge: </div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2020/1/20/A3.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div>Unfortunately, the raging bushfires will blast a $1 billion hole in the tourism figures, blowing yet another hole into the ailing Aussie economy.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The growth in short-term arrivals over the year to November was driven by Victoria (up 6 per cent year-on-year) and Tasmania (up 8 per cent).</div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2020/1/20/A4.jpg" target="_blank">Click here</a> to enlarge: </div>
</div>
<div> <img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2020/1/20/A4.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>There's been a fairly sharp drop in short-term arrivals from Hong Kong as the unrest and demonstrations continued. </div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2020/1/20/a5.jpg" target="_blank">Click here</a> to enlarge: </div>
<div><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2020/1/20/a5.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>There's less tourism from Hong Kong, but plenty of capital is winding its way back to Australia.</div>
PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of AllenWargent property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blogger</a>.
</body></html>

pwargent-M4siyDbqQY

Bushfires will blast a $1 billion hole in tourism: Pete Wargent 

<html><body>
EXPERT OBSERVER
<div>Moves to slow permanent migration to Australia took some effect across recent quarters.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The natural increase of the population was a bit higher over the 2019 financial year at +142,600.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>And net overseas migration of +238,800 was just +100 higher than it was in the prior year. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Overall, population growth in FY 2019 was therefore only modestly higher year-on-year at +381,600 (FY 2018: +380,800).</div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div class="separator">
<img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NZQIqWCq11A/XftAQbU_Y1I/AAAAAAAAzb0/pKAFo-0IVxYhmhH8RKtSPZO0ogHr0gFKgCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/C2.jpg" width="640" height="376" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1387"> </div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div>The rampant population growth of a few years ago has therefore eased a little, although levels of growth do remain very strong. </div>
<img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LHpqcnKfzS0/XftAQe19E8I/AAAAAAAAzbs/pcRC-Fl0cck2S3xeszxVlWjAz46wonGYgCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/C3.jpg" width="640" height="376" data-original-height="813" data-original-width="1377">
<div>South-east Queensland as a destination continued to dominate the interstate moves over the financial year, while net interstate migration to Victoria has now calmed down a little. People are less inclined to leave Western Australia now than they have been for some years. </div>
<div> </div>
<div class="separator">
<img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q-ez-aBzruE/XftAQY2YUhI/AAAAAAAAzbw/pyU_WjwI7iUnShI4BSw-JQbTTocrJCvPgCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/C1.jpg" width="640" height="382" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1387"> </div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div>Piecing it together, some 86 per cent of population growth in FY 2019 was accounted for by New South Wales (+109,400), Victoria (+132,800), and Queensland (+85,700).</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="separator"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7eTpm9BOtFE/XftARHsgOVI/AAAAAAAAzb4/jX74T6wiBOUhIwoD5DzWwvnsdgW0GStNgCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/C4.jpg" width="640" height="370" data-original-height="815" data-original-width="1407"></div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div class="separator">The estimated resident population of the Northern Territory continues to shrink, to be down by -1,200 over the year to June 2019.</div>
Nerida Conisbee of REA Group has noted that the Darwin housing market is really struggling, with no positive indicators registered at all.a
Next up we can map these figures against dwelling completions.
PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of AllenWargent property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blogger</a>. 
</body></html>

Population growth of 381,600 in FY2019: Pete Wargent

<html><body>
EXPERT OBSERVER
Despite election talk of reducing the permanent intake into Australia, any prospective slowdown has been offset by an increase in temporary visa issuance. 
<div>The big drivers have been seen in student visas, bridging visas, and other visitors.</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="separator"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2dolV8p17RI/Xe1r4gkH2gI/AAAAAAAAzRw/IeetJKg5qFgWXm5cF3qROpTq3BnHYzE9ACNcBGAsYHQ/s640/A1.jpg" width="640" height="374" data-original-height="817" data-original-width="1398"></div>
 In particular, student visas have exploded into Sydney and Melbourne. 
<div class="separator"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hYmdWqZ2KKo/Xe1stn5KXPI/AAAAAAAAzSA/UgSES-Ow_400t_FzvJt1VF7WbUecawliQCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/A3.jpg" width="640" height="222" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="743"></div>
 The total number of temporary visas hit a record high 2.3 million in Q3 2019. 
<div class="separator"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8d-Y6SOpCok/Xe1r4jQv62I/AAAAAAAAzR0/blfhsvjEnes8K7TRpFUotwkXhHg0nWV7ACNcBGAsYHQ/s640/A2.jpg" width="640" height="382" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="1339"></div>
 
<div>Temporary visas on issue have fairly consistently increased by about 100,000 per annum over the past six years, from 1.7 million in 2013 to a record high of 2.3 million as at September 2019. </div>
<div> </div>
<div class="separator"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hRMdurDD-gU/Xe1tTj9GfBI/AAAAAAAAzSI/D7uRiuenV_kc9R_a6ONc6lfH22qCS3EVgCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/A4.jpg" width="640" height="244" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="729"></div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div class="separator">This means that population growth, when including temporary and permanent immigration, and the natural population increase (births minus deaths), is running at close to 400,000 per annum.</div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div>I recently <a href="https://gonextlevelwealth.com.au/the-stars-never-align-perfectly-2-minute-video/" target="_blank">discussed here</a> that while population growth can drive housing prices, it isn't a precondition for rising prices. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of AllenWargent property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blogger</a>. </div>
</body></html>

No slowdown in visa issuance: Pete Wargent

<html><body>
GUEST OBSERVATION
Any moves to greatly increase the population of northern Australian by 2060 could have a devastating impact on the local environment without long-term careful planning by all tiers of government.
That’s the finding of <a href="https://tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07293682.2019.1620302" target="_blank" title="The consequences of three urbanisation scenarios for northern Australia">research</a> that looked at several scenarios to increase the population of the north to 5 million people.
That’s an extra 3.7 million people, or an almost four-fold increase in the current population of northern Australia.
But, given the potential impact of climate change on northern Australia, we could see population movement the other way as people in the north head south.
Northern exposure
The region of Australia above the Tropic of Capricorn covers an area of 3,500,000km² – about 45% of Australia’s landmass – yet it houses only 5% of its population.
Proponents of development envisage extreme population growth because of the region’s growing geopolitical importance.
Northern Australia has <a href="https://adcforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/NDS14_report_web_sample.pdf" target="_blank" title="NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT Creating the future Australia">already been identified</a> as a “gateway to Asia”.
It’s also <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt24h8n3" title="The Nature of Northern Australia: Its natural values, ecological processes and future prospects">described</a> as the largest intact “savanna remaining on Earth […] with a rich biodiversity of international significance”.
Current federal government planning for northern Australia is in the <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/our-north-our-future-white-paper-on-developing-northern-australia">Our North, Our Future</a> white paper, released in 2015.
The report adopts a pro-development stance, seeing the north as a place of economic bounty and opportunity.
While it is mute on issues of settlement patterns, there are statements that allude to the government’s support for significant urbanisation:
We need to lay the foundations for rapid population growth and put the north on a trajectory to reach a population of four to five million by 2060.
The white paper also refers to “the development of major population centres of more than a million people”. Such cities would be around six times the size of the current largest northern city of Townsville, <a href="https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/UCL303004?opendocument">population about 180,000</a>.
Three plans for growth
Given the existing city planning documents do not countenance the scale of population growth projected in the white paper, we developed three scenarios for how the federal government could distribute this northern Australian population of 5 million by 2060.
<ul>
<li>Scenario 1: Growth</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298027/original/file-20191022-56220-fspunk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298027/original/file-20191022-56220-fspunk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Scenario 1: Growth. Julian Bolleter, Author provided
Economic and lifestyle factors concentrate the increased population in the four dominant northern cities of Darwin, Cairns, Townsville and Mackay. Each would have populations of more than a million by 2060.
<ul>
<li>Scenario 2: Decentralised Growth</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298028/original/file-20191022-56198-16qw0fx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298028/original/file-20191022-56198-16qw0fx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Scenario 2: Decentralised Growth. Julian Bolleter, Author provided
The populations of Port Hedland, Broome, Kununurra, Darwin, Cairns, Bowen, Townsville and McKay will each increase by 462,000 people.
<ol>
<li>Scenario 3: Concentrated Growth</li>
</ol>
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298029/original/file-20191022-56242-1q6fv76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298029/original/file-20191022-56242-1q6fv76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Scenario 3: Concentrated Growth. Julian Bolleter, Author provided
Economic opportunities see northern Australia’s growing population concentrated in Darwin, which would grow by 1.5 million people by 2060.
This figure is in line with the Australian government’s vision of northern cities with “more than a million people”.
The fate of the north
Irrespective of the scenario, our findings show population growth will not be good for the local environment without any overarching long-term planning frameworks to steer urbanisation.
This is particularly the case for scenarios 1 and 3 where the required increase in urban area either outstrips, or is only just commensurate with, the availability of cleared land adjacent to Darwin, Cairns and Townsville.
As such, population growth at the scale proposed by the white paper could result in substantial destruction, degradation and fragmentation of peri-urban ecosystems – where urban meets rural – by urban development and expanding road networks.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298034/original/file-20191022-56228-1mcel56.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298034/original/file-20191022-56228-1mcel56.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Scenario 1: Growth for Darwin. Julian Bolleter, Author provided
In Darwin’s case, in Scenario 1 the additional 925km² of urbanisation required would sprawl south of the city in a corridor to as far as Humpty Doo (1) and down to Acacia Hills (2).
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298033/original/file-20191022-56215-1cto1wd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298033/original/file-20191022-56215-1cto1wd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Scenario 1: Growth for Townsville. Julian Bolleter, Author provided
In Townsville, in Scenario 1 for growth, the additional 925km² of urbanisation would result in sprawling along the coast and around the existing centres of Giru (1) and Woodstock (2), and around Mount Surround (3).
While Townsville has 957km² of cleared land and theoretically could just accommodate this growth, it is likely to cause extensive damage to the local environment through land degradation and fragmentation by urban development.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298035/original/file-20191022-56224-1294zua.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298035/original/file-20191022-56224-1294zua.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Scenario 3: Concentrated Growth for Darwin. Julian Bolleter, Author provided
In Darwin, with Scenario 3 and concentrated growth, the urban expansion required for the city is 1,500km². This would dwarf the city’s 296km² of developable land and result in substantial clearing of remnant vegetation.
Proper planning required
Clearly then, if the scale of population growth envisaged in the white paper occurs without any comprehensive planning, the result will be harmful for the north.
To avoid this fate we need a bipartisan settlement strategy (most closely resembling Scenario 2) to steer the urbanisation of northern Australia.
Policymakers and planners should develop this strategy based on a comprehensive landscape analysis of northern Australia. If the scale of population growth envisaged in the white paper occurs without such planning, the result will be ruinous for one of the world’s last great wildernesses.
But the federal government should also decide whether a population of 5 million in the north is something we should aspire to at all.
If the worst climate change projections are borne out, we could end up with migration from cities such as Darwin to cities further south, even into the southern states.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125063/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Julian Bolleter<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/julian-bolleter-292111"></a>, Deputy Director, Australian Urban Design Research Centre, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-western-australia-1067" target="_blank">University of Western Australia</a>.
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/you-cant-boost-australias-north-to-5-million-people-without-a-proper-plan-125063" target="_blank">original article</a>.
</body></html>

You can’t boost Australia’s north to 5 million people without a proper plan: Julian Bolleter

<html><body>
Immigration increases house prices, but that effect is reduced if a population views new migrants negatively, according to a world-first analysis from Deakin University.
The Deakin Business School study, <a id="LPlnk86101" href="http://icm-tracking.meltwater.com/link.php?DynEngagement=true&amp;H=FcQ5do3Mtm%2F2JnP%2FxXFcY%2BL9mOkU%2Fad4G7kfqxVfSdkEEq1vNf2gy223dpxStDrOzS022pZho9BLBEis%2FGvpUGMgg3AkCNJaGd8RDr0EBFADdtnwPzZ5Bw0vwFcWND0w6IwjcZm%2FFGI%3D&amp;G=0&amp;R=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedirect.com%2Fscience%2Farticle%2Fpii%2FS1051137718302481&amp;I=20190703032605.000004826056%40mail6-41-usnbn1&amp;X=MHwxMDQ2NzU4OjVkMWMxZTQ2YjA1ZjM5NTQ1MjYyMzQ3Mjs%3D&amp;S=Wq3LopswqhzfOS2z3SUikMwHJdf_zWOc0nAhISK0A3Q" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">recently published in the Journal of Housing Economics</a>, is the first comprehensive statistical review of the global evidence to evaluate how attitudes to immigration affect house prices.
It found that while house prices increase in line with increases to immigration that effect diminishes in countries less welcoming to the newcomers.
Alfred Deakin Professor of Economics Chris Doucouliagos, co-director of the Deakin Lab for the Meta-Analysis of Research (DeLMAR), said the global stock of immigrants had more than tripled between 1960 and 2015, from 72 million to 243 million.
“The sharp rise in international immigration is a pressing social and economic issue,” Professor Doucouliagos said.
“Our analysis is especially timely against the backdrop of a worldwide spread of populist and nationalist politics and the rising need to provide adequate housing for dislocated populations and affordable housing for younger generations.
“So we wanted to know if immigration does affect house prices. But also the impact of deep-seated attitudes towards immigration. Specifically whether the attitudes of locals towards immigrants moderates the impact of immigration.”
The meta-analysis looked at 474 estimates of immigration’s impact on house prices in 14 different destination countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the USA.
“We found that immigration increases house prices in the aggregate. However using data from the World Values Survey, we show that attitudes to immigrants moderates this effect,” Professor Doucouliagos said.
“In countries where locals dislike living next-door to immigrants, for instance, immigration has a smaller effect on house prices, although we find no evidence that house prices sink as a result of immigration.”
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="left"><tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
Country
</td>
<td valign="top">
Percentage not in favour of immigrant neighbours
</td>
<td valign="top">
Immigrants as percentage of 2015 population
</td>
<td valign="top">
House price change in decade to 2015
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
Australia
</td>
<td valign="top">
10.5%
</td>
<td valign="top">
28.22%
</td>
<td valign="top">
+37.35
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
Canada
</td>
<td valign="top">
4.1%
</td>
<td valign="top">
21.8%
</td>
<td valign="top">
+43.66%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
UK
</td>
<td valign="top">
14.2%
</td>
<td valign="top">
13.2%
</td>
<td valign="top">
+0.51%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
USA
</td>
<td valign="top">
13.6%
</td>
<td valign="top">
14.49%
</td>
<td valign="top">
-23.52%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
New Zealand
</td>
<td valign="top">
5.9%
</td>
<td valign="top">
22.96%
</td>
<td valign="top">
+29.41
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
 
 
Data on attitudes to immigrants are regularly collected from the World Values Survey. Specifically, Professor Doucouliagos and his colleagues looked at the question: ‘On this list are various groups of people. Could you please mention any that you would not like to have as neighbours?’
They then looked at the percentage of people from each country included in the meta-analysis who responded ‘Immigrants/foreign workers’.
“For example in the UK, immigration has had a non-significant effect on house prices, but our analysis suggests that may be in part because of negative attitudes towards immigrants,” Professor Doucouliagos said.
“We see the same effect in Australia, and this goes against the theory that increased immigration means higher house prices.
“Immigration increases the demand for housing and rental accommodation, but it might also affect amenities and the perceived desirability of the neighbourhoods most affected.”
Researchers also carried out a ‘counterfactual analysis’ to look at what might happen to house prices if attitudes to immigrants softened to similar levels of the most accepting sample country.
They found immigration would then increase house prices in most countries.
“Our findings are also consistent with other research that people like living near their kin and this motivates where they choose to buy or rent,” Professor Doucouliagos said.
“The tendency of new immigrants to live in the same areas as previous generations of immigrants, combined with a disinclination for local residents with negative attitudes towards immigration to reside near immigrants, lessens the relationship between immigration and house prices.”
</body></html>

Negative attitudes to immigrants tempers house price increases: Deakin University

<html><body>
GUEST OBSERVATION
Are we letting too many or too few migrants into Australia?
For 2019-20 the Australian government <a href="https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/migration-program-planning-levels" target="_blank">has cut</a> the annual net migrant intake from 190,000 to 160,000. It’s a political decision, balancing the concerns of those who want much lower or higher immigration levels for a mix of social, environmental and economic reasons.
It’s an unsatisfactory and ad-hoc balancing act. Could there be more “science” in these decisions?
We’ve sought to come up with an evidence-based method to gauge the effects of migration. To do so we’ve used the internationally accepted framework for development planning, the <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/" target="_blank">Sustainable Development Goals</a>. The goals cover major aspects of economic, social and environmental well-being, from decent jobs and quality education to good health and clean water.
We investigated three population scenarios: one similar to Australia’s recent annual level of net migration (about 200,000 a year); one much lower (about 70,000 a year); and one much higher (about 300,000 a year).
What our results show, perhaps surprisingly, and more by luck than design, is that recent levels of immigration seem to be in a “goldilocks zone” that balances economic, social and environmental objectives.
Our results also suggest migration is neither the problem nor solution in many areas where Australia is off-track, from government debt to environmental action.
Balancing competing agendas
Immigration policy is Australia’s <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/migrant-intake/report/migrant-intake-report.pdf" target="_blank">de facto population policy</a>. With the birthrate just keeping up with deaths, it’s migration that <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/3101.0">drives</a> population growth. It’s why in 2018 the population passed 25 million, <a href="http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/77DDF6AF34285E7ACA25693E00033443/%24File/32220_1999%20to%202101.pdf" target="_blank">years earlier than previously predicted</a>.
Annual migration intake is set as part of the the annual budget cycle. The government treats it primarily as a short-term economic issue. But population growth has long-term impacts on many sectors, from health and education to infrastructure and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-migration-affects-housing-affordability-92502" target="_blank">housing</a>. Population growth, particularly through <a href="https://soe.environment.gov.au/theme/drivers/topic/population-driver-environmental-change" target="_blank">urban expansion</a>, increases pressures on the natural environment.
Ideally, therefore, decisions about migration numbers and population growth should synch with long-term planning at the state and local levels to avoid service shortages, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-s-lack-of-people-planning-is-a-road-to-nowhere-20180801-p4zut4" target="_blank">urban sprawl, vehicle congestion and infrastructure shortfalls</a>.
The question remains about how to make evidence-based policy that balances deeply divided views. Some strongly support high net migration due to the important role population growth plays in managing an ageing population. Others argue equally forcefully for reducing migration because it places a burden on infrastructure, services and the environment.
Using the sustainable development goals
To negotiate these differences, we chose the <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300" target="_blank">UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a>. The goals cover long-term targets in 17 major areas of economic prosperity, social justice and environmental sustainability. All member states of the UN, including Australia, have agreed to them as a shared blueprint to achieve by 2030.
<hr>
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275833/original/file-20190522-187153-5jlh95.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275833/original/file-20190522-187153-5jlh95.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals. <a class="source" href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org">United Nations</a>
<hr>
Each goal area includes multiple specific targets – 169 in all. For example, Goal 11 (“Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”) includes the targets of adequate, safe and affordable housing and affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems.
Countries are not required to adopt all targets, but focus on those appropriate. We chose 52 targets relevant to Australia, covering all 17 goals and ensuring a reasonable balance of economic, social and environmental priorities.
Using advanced modelling capabilities, we tested how achieving the targets by 2030 might be affected by different population sizes.
Overall, not a huge difference
The following chart shows our results in a single graphic. For our low-migration scenario, Australia’s population in 2030 is 27.3 million; for the moderate, 28.9 million; and for the high, 30.6 million.
<hr>
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276020/original/file-20190523-187179-3ced24.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276020/original/file-20190523-187179-3ced24.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
How low, moderate and high population scenarios affect Australian’s performance on the Sustainable Development Goals. The authors
<hr>
Only in two goal areas – education, clean water and sanitation – do our results show Australia doing better than 85% achievement by 2030 under all three scenarios. Only in another three – health, gender equality and energy – do we do better than 50%.  
All scenarios had equal effect on eliminating poverty (<a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg1" target="_blank">Goal 1</a>). However, the low-migration scenario did better for achieving food security and improving nutrition (<a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/" target="_blank">Goal 2</a>).
Perhaps surprisingly, for decent work and economic growth (<a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/economic-growth/" target="_blank">Goal 8</a>), the middle scenario scored the best.
In the centre of the chart are the overall scores of each scenario.
The high-migration scenario (39.4% progress towards all targets) is the lowest , but not by much. There is almost no difference between maintaining recent migration levels (40.5%) and significanly slashing the migration intake (40.6%).
This suggests that, on an equal balance across a broad set of competing objectives, recent historic levels may be about right.
However, these results brush over the range of trade-offs between different targets – some of which may be considered more important than others.
Compared against the low scenario, for example, the high scenario results in an estimated 1.7 million extra vehicles on the roads, increased water consumption (~600 million m3), greater urban sprawl (~60,000 ha), and higher greenhouse gas emissions (~15 million tons CO2-equivalent).
Poor performance in many areas
What is perhaps most striking is that, regardless of the population scenario, Australia isn’t tracking well on most measures of sustainable development. <a href="https://www.sdgtransformingaustralia.com/" target="_blank">Other studies</a> have concluded the same.
As already noted, Australia is doing well on health, education and water quality. But it’s performing poorly on climate action (<a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climate-change/" target="_blank">Goal 13</a>) and responsible consumption (<a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-consumption-production/" target="_blank">Goal 12</a>), to name just two.
Broadly accepted frameworks to <a href="https://www.sdgtransformingaustralia.com/" target="_blank">measure progress</a> and weigh policy decisions in contested areas is something we lack across the policy board.
Finding new drivers of job creation, addressing infrastructure needs, and tackling climate change are just some of the complex challenges Australia faces.
Ad-hoc, short-term approaches to addressing them are unlikely to often deliver optimal outcomes. Combining clear targets, a long-term perspective and advances in modelling might help.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115136/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Cameron Allen, Researcher, UNSW
Graciela Metternicht, Professor of Environmental Geography, School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW
Thomas Wiedmann, Associate Professor, UNSW
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-you-think-less-immigration-will-solve-australias-problems-youre-wrong-but-neither-will-more-115136" target="_blank">original article</a>.
</body></html>

If you think less immigration will solve Australia’s problems, you’re wrong; but neither will more

<html><body>
GUEST OBSERVATION
Immigration policy will be a major issue in the 2019 federal election. We know this because immigration has featured significantly at every Australian election since the 2001 “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_Overboard_affair" target="_blank">children overboard</a>” election.
David Marr and Marian Wilkinson argued in their 2003 book, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/dark-victory-20030329-gdgiaw" target="_blank">Dark Victory</a>, that willingness to play the race card in relation to boat people was a decisive factor in John Howard’s election victory. For Tony Abbott, “Stop the boats” was a major campaign theme when the Coalition won back government in the 2013 election. The current prime minister, Scott Morrison, rose to prominence as Abbott’s unyielding immigration minister who stopped the boats.
While the <a href="https://theconversation.com/christchurch-attacks-strike-at-the-heart-of-muslims-safe-places-from-islamophobia-113922" target="_blank">events of Christchurch</a> may have cramped the opportunity for the Coalition to run hard on fear, promising to be tough on borders and tough on (Muslim) terrorism, the dog-whistle politics on the issue of refugees and asylum seekers will be there for those wanting to hear it.
For Labor these policy issues have been difficult. It was Kevin Rudd who as PM <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-more-asylum-in-australia-for-those-arriving-by-boat-rudd-16238" target="_blank">declared that those arriving by boat would never be settled in Australia</a>, irrespective of the validity of their claims for protection under the UN <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/en-lk/1951-refugee-convention" target="_blank">Refugee Convention</a>. Labor supported efforts to get children out of detention on Manus Island, but doesn’t want to give the conservatives too much space to convincingly advance a “Labor weak on border security” line.
Humanitarian intake is growing
The Coalition governments of Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison have in fact increased Australia’s annual humanitarian intake significantly. The number has <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/BudgetReview201516/Migration" target="_blank">risen from just over 13,750 to more than 18,000</a> – though the government has not loudly broadcast this fact.
In addition, Abbott in 2015 announced a <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-ups-its-syrian-refugee-intake-but-what-about-its-own-backyard-47160" target="_blank">one-off intake of 12,000 Syrian conflict refugees</a>. Most of them arrived in 2017, effectively doubling the annual refugee intake in that year.
Australia – and the refugees – coped well, demonstrating the nation’s capacity to significantly increase refugee intakes. <a href="https://theconversation.com/refugees-are-integrating-just-fine-in-regional-australia-101188" target="_blank">Our research</a> with newly arrived Syrian, Iraqi and Afghan refugee families suggests they are settling well in Australia, receiving a warm welcome from locals in the cities and regional centres. Employment and family reunification are their key worries.
Labor’s shadow immigration minister, Shayne Neumann, has flagged a new <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/punjabi/en/article/2019/02/12/labor-government-will-replace-new-sponsored-parent-visa" target="_blank">temporary sponsored visa for the parents of migrants</a>. Unlike the current visa, it does not have a cap and it might assist refugees to get their parents to Australia.
Labor has <a href="https://www.alp.org.au/asylumseekers" target="_blank">announced it will increase the annual humanitarian intake</a> of refugees to 27,000 by 2025. It will also abolish <a href="https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/temporary-protection-785" target="_blank">Temporary Protection Visas</a> (TPVs). These visas provide boat arrivals who are found to be refugees the right to stay for only three years with work and study rights and access to Centrelink payments. As Labor argues, this places them “in a permanent state of limbo”.
The Coalition parties have not announced their policy intentions in relation to humanitarian intakes or the rights of asylum seekers, including those who arrived by boat.
At a time when Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton scans the horizon for new boat arrivals, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/worst-ever-immigration-minister-asylum-seekers-jet-in-under-dutton-s-nose-20190302-p511d8" target="_blank">record number of asylum seekers are arriving by plane</a> under tourist visas. In 2013-14, there were 18,718 asylum applications, including 9,072 boat arrivals. This had increased to <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2018/12/09/record-number-asylum-seekers-peter-dutton/" target="_blank">27,931 asylum applications, with no boat arrivals, by 2017-18</a>.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267995/original/file-20190408-2931-1sgmyyr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267995/original/file-20190408-2931-1sgmyyr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Department of Home Affairs
Each year the Australia government sets the permanent immigration targets. Until recently this was set at 190,00. In practice just <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-stats/files/report-migration-program-2017-18.pdf" target="_blank">162,000 immigrants have been admitted</a> over the past year or so.
A token cut and 2 new visas
In this context Prime Minister Morrison’s announcement that the <a href="https://theconversation.com/slimmed-down-migration-program-has-regional-focus-113847" target="_blank">permanent immigration target will be cut to 160,000</a> is really no change in immigration policy. There is nothing to see here if you dismiss the need to be loudly anti-immigration in the current populist political climate.
The announcement is linked to congestion-busting in the major cities of Sydney and Melbourne. It is accompanied by the <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/federal-budget/immigration-cuts-and-regional-visas-to-ease-strain-on-sydney-and-melbourne/news-story/da7de88690966d4c202ab0d372a5b253" target="_blank">introduction of two new visa pathways</a> – the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa and the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Visa – for skilled migrants to live and work in regional areas for five years.
These visas offer the carrot of permanent residency at the end of three years to attract new immigrants to regional Australia. In addition, the budget announced that scholarships to the tune of $94 million over four years would be available to domestic and international students who study there.
Temporary migrants exploited
Most immigration policy debates centre on permanent immigration intakes, particularly of humanitarian immigrants and asylum seekers. Yet annual temporary migrant intakes – international students, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1617/Quick_Guides/WorkingHoliday" target="_blank">working holidaymakers</a> and temporary skilled workers – are <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1617/Quick_Guides/MigrationStatistics#_Table_2:_Temporary%20_and%20214,583%20Working%20Holiday%20Makers%20on%20417%20and%20462%20Visas" target="_blank">three times greater</a> than the permanent intake. <a href="https://docs.jobs.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/mwt_final_report.pdf" target="_blank">Over 800,000 temporary migrants</a> were in Australia in June 2018.
One key policy issue is the exploitation of temporary migrant workers. The Turnbull government abolished the 457 temporary skilled migration visa because of increasing <a href="https://theconversation.com/457-visa-changes-wont-impact-on-wider-temporary-education-workforce-and-maybe-thats-deliberate-76579" target="_blank">reports of abuse and exploitation by employers</a>.
One <a href="https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2017/11/apo-nid120406-1162971.pdf" target="_blank">recent survey</a> of 4,332 temporary migrant workers found “increasing evidence of widespread exploitation of temporary migrant workers, including wage theft”. <a href="https://www.mwji.org/highlights/2017/11/14/report-released-wage-theft-in-australia-findings-of-the-national-temporary-migrant-work-survey%20and%20other%20abuses%20of%20workers%20rights" target="_blank">Half of all temporary migrant workers may be underpaid</a>. About one in three international students and backpackers earned $12 an hour or less – about half the minimum wage.
This issue goes not just to the ethics of maintaining a temporary migration program largely premised on migrant worker exploitation. It also resonates with Labor’s <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-05/labors-budget-reply-was-a-careful-pitch-to-voters/10973572" target="_blank">campaign for a living wage and the restoration of penalty rates</a> for workers in response to the low rate of real wage growth in Australia, which constrains consumer demand.
The 2019-20 federal budget allocated extra funding to the Fair Work Ombudsman to bolster enforcement action against employers who exploit vulnerable workers and announced the National Labour Hire Registration Scheme to <a href="https://www.jobs.gov.au/migrant-workers-taskforce" target="_blank">target rogue operators in the labour hire industry</a>. However, the research suggests wage theft is widespread in the small business sector, a key target for tax relief in the budget. It is an area of immigration policy that requires considerably more resources and punch.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113557/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Jock Collins, Professor of Social Economics, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/dog-whistles-regional-visas-and-wage-theft-immigration-policy-is-again-an-election-issue-113557" target="_blank">original article</a>.
</body></html>

Dog whistles, regional visas and wage theft – immigration policy is again an election issue

<html><body>
GUEST OBSERVATION 
Australia is <a href="https://mckellinstitute.org.au/research/articles/why-australia-is-the-worlds-most-successful-multicultural-society/" target="_blank">one of the most successful multicultural societies in the world</a>. Nonetheless, in recent times many Australians have come to regard population growth, and particularly immigration, as a problem – at best – to be solved. In contrast, we believe population growth and migration present a creative opportunity to shape new Australian cities unlike any we have built to date.
In a globalised economy where technology has prevailed over geography, Australians are natural global citizens. However, all is not well in multicultural Australia. Recent and credible <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/apr/24/australians-growing-more-concerned-over-immigration-guardian-essential-poll" target="_blank">polling</a> indicates that 64% of Australians think the level of immigration over the past decade has been too high – up from 50% in 2016.
We believe such opinions (in part) stem from entrenched migration patterns. Currently <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/90pc-of-migrants-settling-in-two-cities/news-story/8746797d36bf40f41587d267e8dcdbc4" target="_blank">90% of new arrivals settle in Sydney or Melbourne</a> where they <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/http://apo.org.au/node/187861" target="_blank">compound housing affordability</a> and congestion issues, among others. Migrants from overseas are the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3218.0Feature%20Article12016-17?opendocument&amp;tabname=Summary&amp;prodno=3218.0&amp;issue=2016-17&amp;num=&amp;view=" target="_blank">main contributors to both cities’ populations growing</a> by over 100,000 people each year.
In response to these issues, the Morrison government is <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/cities-fix-pms-plan-to-send-migrants-to-regions-for-five-years/news-story/c8573e68a1438295818d5aab9de5471b">considering a plan</a> requiring some new migrants, including refugees, to settle for up to five years in regional areas.
However, there are limits to this approach. <a href="https://www.aec.gov.au/Elections/federal_elections/2016/files/2016-aec-results-map.pdf" target="_blank">Voting patterns</a> indicate Australians in regional Australia are also often <a href="http://tapri.org.au/?p=529" target="_blank">resistant to increased migration</a>. Moreover, the mechanisation and automation of farming mean that jobs are often scarce.
So what can Australia do?
Australia will need more drastic solutions over the longer term. Refugees now number over <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/en-au/figures-at-a-glance" target="_blank">25 million people</a> worldwide. Due to climate change alone a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/dev.2011.60" target="_blank">deluge of refugees is predicted by 2050, particularly in Asia</a> – 144 million in China, 63 million in India and 62 million in Bangladesh.
In the face of this, demographer <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.hardiegrant.com/au/publishing/bookfinder/book/the-big-tilt-by-bernard-salt/9781740668880" target="_blank">Bernard Salt asks</a>:
<blockquote>
What does Australia do? Board and turn back every boat? Leave the refugees without support on the Kimberley coast? Plan to help as many as we can and then hope we can ship back tens of thousands of people?
</blockquote>
Clearly, Australia will need a plan to deal with this situation, particularly given the panic over the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1617/Quick_Guides/BoatTurnbacks" target="_blank">arrival of small numbers of “boat people”</a> and the Coalition government <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/cities-fix-pms-plan-to-send-migrants-to-regions-for-five-years/news-story/c8573e68a1438295818d5aab9de5471b" target="_blank">reducing immigration to the lowest level in more than a decade</a>. We could bemoan a lack of support for increased immigration in Australia, or instead bear this resistance in mind and try to find a creative (part) solution.
This is where our Refuge City model is potentially instructive. As <a href="https://oldblog.robwiblin.com/2009/10/17/how-possible-is-a-charter-city-of-refugees-in-australia/" target="_blank">Robert Wiblin has urged in the past</a>:
<blockquote>
If Australians are not so enthusiastic about sharing their good luck with refugees [and migrants], a <a href="https://www.caymanfinancialreview.com/2012/10/12/charter-cities-the-future-trade-centres-of-the-world/" target="_blank">charter city</a> administered by Australia will at least allow them access to the governmental and legal institutions which have served Australia so well.
</blockquote>
In line with this sentiment, we have designed an urban model for a bustling, multicultural and entrepreneurial metropolis located on Australia’s northern coast which would run under its own charter. Such a city would provide refuge and opportunity for many migrants, above and beyond what Australia already <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-statistics/statistics/visa-statistics/live/humanitarian-program" target="_blank">accepts through its humanitarian migration program</a>.
A city of cities on the north coast
Why the northern coast? We selected this area because it has many advantages, such as proximity to rapidly growing Indonesia, availability of mineral and energy resources, and – in the case of the Northern Territory – <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-27/why-isnt-the-northern-territory-a-state-curious-darwin/9457776" target="_blank">Commonwealth control</a> of land. This is important because it gives the federal government full legislative power to create a charter city unconstrained by opposition from the states.
Refuge City would comprise dense, car-phobic and adaptable urban neighbourhoods (of up to 32,000 people) based partly on migrant ethnicities – forming a city of cities, rather than a monolithic mass of urbanism.
As required, this form would enable different cultural groups to <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.amazon.com/Cities-Zero-Andraos/dp/1902902602" target="_blank">follow many of their own cultural practices</a> and develop a <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01944369708975941" target="_blank">measure of self sufficiency</a>. The design of these neighbourhoods would be developed with the communities and would reference – within limits – the urban traditions of the residents’ home countries so to provide a “home away from home”.
Rather than the cultural model of the “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melting_pot" target="_blank">melting pot</a>” – which is under assault in many cities of the world – these urban neighbourhoods would cradle islands of relative cultural specificity yet maintain an overall cultural diversity. Natural areas, recreational open spaces and schools would provide crucial interstitial spaces between the urban islands and their respective communities. Moreover, an integrated bus system and a wide distribution of jobs would also stimulate interactions between communities. This will moderate the cultural specificity of the urban islands over time.
Adapting the charter city model
Like <a href="https://www.aurecongroup.com/thinking/thinking-papers/charter-cities-start-scratch" target="_blank">other charter cities such as Shenzen</a>, an independent government would govern the city, running it with respect to a specific charter. The autonomous government will incorporate an alliance of representatives from Australia’s federal and territory governments and potentially other countries within the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
The <a href="http://clubtroppo.com.au/2014/10/20/a-charter-city-for-refugees/" target="_blank">charter’s terms, which will define the city’s operation</a>, include a much lower personal and company tax regime than elsewhere in Australia, to stimulate investment and jobs. Businesses would pay workers the Australian minimum wage but would not otherwise offer award wages or conditions. Complementing this will be a basic but liveable social security, housing, education and primary health care system.
On arrival, migrants would receive a <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-statistics/statistics/country-profiles/temporary-migration" target="_blank">temporary visa</a>. They would be able to apply for a <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-statistics/statistics/country-profiles/permanent-migration" target="_blank">skilled migration visa</a> if they gain marketable skills from the city’s trade schools and university campuses, or a permanent business visa if they establish a successful business (both business and education would be conducted in English).
Moreover the city would avoid the need for mandatory offshore detention of arrivals by boat, which the UN Human Rights Council has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/02/scathing-un-migration-report-not-ideal-start-to-australias-human-rights-council-tenure" target="_blank">condemned as a “massive abuse”</a> of migrants. This has in turn profoundly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/02/scathing-un-migration-report-not-ideal-start-to-australias-human-rights-council-tenure" target="_blank">damaged Australia’s moral authority</a> globally. Despite our tarnished reputation, Australian residents would be welcome in Refuge City, whether as students attending global university hubs, starting a business, or enjoying the city’s bustling diversity while on a weekend getaway. Conversely, Refuge City residents would also be able to visit other Australian cities, and in particular Darwin.
Through a leasehold model, Indigenous landholders would maintain ownership of Refuge City land and gain a sustainable and substantial rental income from it. This is not unprecedented. <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/curious-canberra/2016-07-04/can-people-own-land-in-the-act/7550166" target="_blank">Canberra embodies a similar system</a>, with all land leased to “owners” as a Crown lease.
Moreover, given Indigenous culture’s continuing ownership and intimate knowledge of the land, we would develop the Refuge City designs with land councils. Without such sincere engagement, traditional owners would rightly veto new city development under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976.
Through our Refuge City model Australians could aid many more refugees than they would otherwise accept as fully fledged immigrants to the existing cities. In so doing, we could make Australia the world’s great 21st-century refuge.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/julian-bolleter-292111" target="_blank">Julian Bolleter</a>, Deputy Director, Australian Urban Design Research Centre, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-western-australia-1067" target="_blank">University of Western Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ken-parish-12678" target="_blank">Ken Parish</a>, Senior Lecturer in Law, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-darwin-university-1066" target="_blank">Charles Darwin University</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/refuge-city-a-new-kind-of-city-for-our-times-106992" target="_blank">original article</a>.
</body></html>

Immigration

Editor's Picks

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News

Immigration

Editor's Picks

Receive the latest news stories to your inbox

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News