Australia softens visa regulations

[leftchick]

Australia will make it easier for overseas students to gain visas and increase the opportunities for foreigners to work in the country under changes that go into effect on Tuesday.


Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said the changes would benefit Australian employers who were struggling to find workers because of a skilled labour shortage.

Several new categories of visas will be available, including one which will allow foreign students to undertake vocational study while completing a trade apprenticeship in a rural area.

"This gives them the chance to get a trade qualification that will equip them with skills in demand by employers who cannot find skilled staff locally," Vanstone said.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/EE6ACC34-C92E-4F5D-9E11-288DE9AC1297.htm

[Sapphocrat]

1. The question is, why would anyone _want_ to work in Oz right now?

Howard's new IR (industrial relations) "reforms" are nearly as draconian as his new "anti-terror" legislation.

I'll have to read more about this... Something tells me that if Cruella de Anti-Immigration Vanstone is willing to soften any visa regulations, Australia's employment situation must really be in crisis. Perhaps part of the plan is to exempt certain classes of skilled workers from the new IR reforms. Otherwise, I don't what the attraction would be for students and other workers... If anyone thinks workers haven't enough protections in the U.S. right now, we've got paradise compared to what our Aussies brothers and sisters are facing.

Gee, maybe if Howard would A) drop the workplace agreements and B) "reform" Centrelink, and Vanstone would stop overlooking the deportation of Australian citizens and legal permanent residents, they'd have the talent pool they need.