Immigrants like these risk their lives crossing to Australia.
Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans has rejected a proposal by Sri Lanka’s immigration chief to allow unskilled workers to immigrate to Australia in a bid to stop the exodus of boatloads of immigrants turning up in Australian waters.
The Sir Lankan Commissioner P B Abeykoon told The Australian newspaper that his proposal would cut down the number of asylum seekers, a number that has been steadily rising over the past few months. It was whilst the Commissioner was in Canberra for talks that he raised the idea of unskilled migrants: “The people who are going through the boats are unskilled labourers, fisherman, farmers,� he commented.
However a spokesperson for the Australian DIAC said that Australia did not run an unskilled migration program.
Support for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has slumped, according to a recent Newspoll and some believe this slump is, in part, because of the way he has handled the refugee crisis. In response, Rudd has sent a special envoy in the form of senior diplomat John McCarthy to try and open up talks on a way of handling the huge numbers of Sri Lankan refugees heading for Australia.
Reports from Sri Lankan media suggest that up to 200,000 refugees might be planning to cross the Indian Ocean in order to try and reach Australia. At the moment all refugees caught trying to cross, are detained on facilities such as Christmas Island whilst officials decide their cases. Refugees can be held in detention facilities for up to 2 years.
The Sri Lankan government argue that bringing in unskilled migrants would help destroy the illegal trade of people smuggling and save many lives as refugees, some of them women and children, attempt the dangerous crossing in overcrowded and inadequate boats.
However the Australian Government, whilst admitting that talks between themselves and the Sri Lankan government are taking place, refuse to consider the possibility of allowing unskilled migrants into the country.
The DIAC were also quick to refute media notions that any agreement between the two countries had taken place.
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3 Responses to “DIAC Rejects Unskilled Migrants Plan”
Comment by Anaconda — November 5, 2009 @ 8:56 pm
Australia only needs terrorists who come in the guise of refugees.One day this will boomarang to them…idiots
Comment by soma — November 6, 2009 @ 7:22 am
How dumb is this person is, Sri lanka has got enough very valuable skilled migrant who could uplift the australian next generation demand for skilled migrants, I cant understand why this idiotic official asking to let unskilled migrants to come to australia, does’nt serve any perpuse of the country that they are leaving or the country they comming to.
If australia let unskilled people to come to this country half of the world population will end up in Australia.
Comment by Jade — January 11, 2010 @ 5:44 am
not only via boat but everyday by aircaft WAKE UP