A new study has found that attracting international migrants to regional places should be a top priority, and it’s an area where Northern Tasmania is leading the way.
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The Regional Australia Institute study found migrant’s most valuable contributions are in regional areas where they revitalise communities, fill workforce shortages, contribute to the economy and help grow the population.
Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) CEO, Ella Dixon, said there are endless perks in encouraging a diverse population, “There’s this thing called productive diversity, where there is some potential economic benefit from valuing different experiences, skills and perspectives and the cross transfer and integration of these into the local economy.”
Although regional migration has increased, less than 20 per cent of migrants between 2006 and 2011 were settled regionally. Regional Australia Institute CEO, Jack Archer, said attracting migrants was an easy fix for population growth. “If you're a regional area and you don't have the sort of population growth you’d like to have and you're not having 50 per cent of your population growth coming from international migration then you're missing the opportunity,” said Mr Archer.
Ms Dixon said the MRC has helped settle thousands of migrants into Northern Tasmania, “I think we are punching above our weight in terms of populations growth and regional growth in that sense.”
Mr Archer said it is important to get the strategy right, matching migrants to skills shortages that exist in that area. “If you’ve got skill gaps… then migration could be a really good solution and that can help businesses grow and create other jobs in the community,” said Mr Archer. Tasmania suffers from skills shortages in many areas. Ms Dixon said the MRC has been approached to help fill shortages in skilled labour.
International migrant, Moharam Moradi, said community support was vital in helping him settle in Launceston, “People, they were so friendly, they helped us always.” Mr Moradi and his friend, Mostafa Karimi, are studying and have taken on leadership roles in the community.
Mr Archer thinks Launceston has an opportunity to attract migrants through study, something the Tasmanian Government is actively addressing. It plans to grow Tasmania’s population by encouraging international migration to Tasmania.