Andrew Bartlett (Queensland, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs annual report is one I would recommend that people read. It is an area that gets a lot of political and public debate, usually only around very select components of the immigration area. It is actually quite an enormous area that covers a whole range of activity. As I have mentioned in this place before, I think there is a lack of awareness of just how many people come into Australia each year on various forms of residency visa. The net numbers of permanent and long-term migrants are at very significantly high levels currently in Australia—there were 110,000 in 2004-05, and estimates are up further again. But, when you add on top of that the number of other people coming in on long-term temporary residency visas, it is in the hundreds of thousands of people each year. That means a lot of decisions are being made each year, for starters. Therefore it is very important to be as effective and efficient as possible and get those decisions right and make them promptly. Long delays in determining applications are a significant problem, particularly for people coming in for temporary residency purposes or on special-purpose visits. That is an area where we can always do better.

I note a discussion paper has just been released in the area of settlement services, which the previous speaker touched on. This, again, is a very important area that does not get as much attention as it merits, purely from a public interest and public policy point of view. As I mentioned, clearly there are very large numbers of people now coming here each year on residency visas, including some on long-term temporary visas, but many of those then become permanent. I think we can do better at identifying people when they first come here for residency purposes and assisting them at that time with integration and settlement in the broader sense of the word. Even if they are not going to end up being permanent residents, it is in our nation’s interests for people who are coming here to reside for prolonged periods for any reason to be given assistance to be an effective part of the Australian community.

The front cover of this report includes the words ‘Enriching Australia through the well-managed entry and settlement of people’. That settlement is a very important part of the whole area of immigration that does not get enough attention. It is not just about making sure people get here and get out okay—that is all important; it is about what happens when people settle here. I think we should think of settlement more as long-term residency of any sort, whether it is permanent in the first instance or not. I am thinking of our nation’s interest as much as the interest of the individuals coming here.

It is also worth while to emphasise just how much of a positive immigration is to Australia and how unavoidable but positive it is that a migration intake of that size will be multicultural. We need to have greater recognition—and the department is the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs—of the importance of promoting the positives of multiculturalism and recognition that a key component of effective multiculturalism is effective integration in the wider community in a way that does not make people negate their previous histories, cultures and beliefs but enables them to contribute that to the wider Australian community. We all benefit from that.

It is often put up by some people that multiculturalism is some sort of opposite to integration. That is sloppy thinking about what it is about. Getting those sorts of numbers of people coming into the country all the time is a great enrichment to Australia—and I would remind people that there is a reciprocal situation here. Many Australians are able to travel and work elsewhere and experience other countries for long periods. Many of them end up coming back here. We benefit from their experience as well. It is an overall positive enrichment for countries worldwide, and it is shown to give huge benefits to Australia. But we need to work on continually improving our delivery of that. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.