Australia's Asian migrant intake soars

We reproduce here an article from the mainstream press. Its facts are correct. Australia First calls for an end, an absolute end to immigration.

Australia's Asian migrant intake soars

John Masanauskas From: Herald Sun July 29, 2010 7:44PM

'AUSTRALIA'S Asian migrant population has soared in the past decade, with almost a million Chinese, Indians and Vietnamese now calling the nation home. The Asian-born population has risen from 5.3 per cent in 1999 to almost 9 per cent, an Australian Bureau of Statistics report reveals.

'About 81,000 migrants settled in Victoria last year, most in Melbourne.

'Monash University demographer Dr Bob Birrell said the figure, which includes foreign students, was enormous.

"You can see why Melbourne has been growing so rapidly and why there are concerns about congestion and quality of life," he said.

'Dr Birrell said more than half of the nation's 300,000 migrant growth in 2008-09 occurred in Melbourne and Sydney and was mainly driven by Asian settlers.

'The Chinese and Hong Kong-born community has reached more than 430,000, while the number of Indian-born settlers has passed 300,000, the ABS's Migration 2008-09 report said. Only the British and New Zealand migrant groups are bigger.

'The nation's European-born population has fallen from 12.5 per cent to 11 per cent over the past decade.

'About 60 per cent of current migration to Victoria is from Asia, led by Indians, Chinese and Sri Lankans.

'Humanitarian arrivals tend to live in suburbs such as Springvale, Dandenong, Footscray and Sunshine, while skilled migrants are concentrated in areas such as Clayton, Oakleigh and Glen Waverley.

'Dr Birrell said while migration to Australia from Britain and New Zealand was high, Victoria's share of those settlers was low.

"They are in effect bypassing Melbourne and going mainly to Queensland and Western Australia," he said.

'Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called for a population debate, saying she does not support a big Australia.

'But the Government has made no commitment to slash the migrant intake.

'The Coalition has pledged to cap the annual number at 170,000 over the next three years, but Labor says numbers are already falling to those levels.

'The ABS report also revealed that 40 per cent, or 2.2 million Victorians, moved over the past five years.

SOURCE: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/australias-asian-migrant-intake-soars/story-e6frf7kx-1225898653137