Migrant Intake Cut
Mon, 16 Mar, 2009

In a bid to try and save local jobs, the Australian government will cut the number of skilled migrants by 14 percent.
The Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, stated that this will reduce the number of people coming to Australia on the Permanent Migration Program from 133,500 to 115,500.
This is Australia's response to the global financial crisis, and an attempt to avoid adding to local unemployment numbers.
The critical skills list had already had cooks and hairdressers removed from it by Senator Evans last Christmas. Further occupations, mainly in building and manufacturing, are also being cut back.
The official media release from Senator Evans can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/c5mzls
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