Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to associate myself with the remarks made by my colleague and the chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, the member for . This inquiry was progressing and producing some clear and detailed evidence on strategies to increase migration into Australia's regional areas before the disruption of COVID-19. That disruption took over all aspects of our lives, including the labour market, which has regrettably led to the unanimous decision of the committee to cease our inquiry. The volume of evidence we did receive, however, speaks to the engagement and commitment of the people of rural Australia to the urgency of their calls and to their dedication to ensuring the longevity and vibrancy of their local communities.

I want to thank everyone who engaged with the committee during the course of this inquiry. In particular, though, I want to thank the communities of Mount Gambier and Bright in South Australia and the wonderful people we met during our public hearings there before COVID-19 struck. I also want to thank the community representatives from Kalgoorlie-Boulder whose evidence was taken via teleconference in March, making the migration committee the first to conduct public hearings via teleconference in the COVID-19 social-distancing period. It was, indeed, an experience—one that went very smoothly, with minor technical glitches.

While the inquiry did not reach a point where the committee felt it was able to draw solid conclusions and make recommendations to government, this evidence nonetheless provides an excellent resource for anyone interested in migration in regional Australia. The evidence spans a wide range of migration issues, from the ability of businesses to access the skilled workers they need to build their businesses and local economies to the settlement of humanitarian migrants in regional areas, the invaluable work undertaken by volunteers to ensure that every migrant has the best settlement experience they can and the role played by all three levels of government.

The committee received evidence from many different sections of the Australian community. Submissions were made by state governments, local councils, peak bodies, volunteer organisations, unions, academics, migration agents and many others. It was heartening to see the commitment of all these groups and people to the future of regional Australia, and I'd like to encourage them to continue their advocacy on behalf of regional Australia and its residents.

As the public hearings were curtailed, committee members did not have the opportunity to fully consider much of the evidence received, some of which expressed some conflicting views. We hope there will be opportunities in the near future to further consider the effectiveness of labour market testing and the current temporary skilled migration income threshold, both issues impact in various ways on different communities, regions and workforces.

Like the member for Berowra, I'd like to note my appreciation to everyone who assisted in this inquiry. The committee heard some remarkable stories in its hearings and saw some incredible places during its site inspections. Of course, we are disappointed that COVID-19 denied us the opportunity to visit other regional areas and communities as planned. But on the basis of what we did see I think I speak on behalf of my committee colleagues in saying that the future of regional Australia is in good hands, and never has it been more apparent that we must work together to ensure and advance the social and economic viability and progress of regional Australia.

I also look forward to the presentation of the committee's report on this inquiry. I want to thank my committee colleagues for the efforts in pursuing this inquiry. I very much look forward to working with them in the future. Many thanks, of course, to the amazing support of members of our secretariat. To Pauline Cullen, James Bunce, Belynda Zolotto, Kristy Altieri and Tanya Pratt, thank you very much for the incredibly important work that you do and the assistance you have provided us.

See this speech in context