Celebrating Success of Rural Migrant Settlement Programs

Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Services with special responsibility for multicultural affairs and settlement services and Tony Pasin, Member for Barker, today said migrant settlement in Australia’s rural towns was important as it was helping offset the flow of young people to cities.

Speaking in Mount Gambier, South Australia, at the launch of the Enabling Rural Migrant Settlement: A Case Study of the Limestone Coast report, Senator Fierravanti-Wells said the Australian Government was proud of the on-going successes of rural migrant settlement projects.

“Migrants help fill rural labour shortages, which helps keep local businesses going, which in turn helps create a bigger, more diverse local marketplace, helping produce even more job opportunities,” Senator Fierravanti-Wells said.

“The Howard Government announced 11 years ago that it would increase the number of migrants in rural areas.  Since then, there has been a steady increase in the number of rural resettlement sites, backed with financial support.

“The Australian Government supports diversity.  Our policies and programmes welcome and help migrants take part in our communities as soon as possible after they arrive,” she said.

Federal member for Barker, Tony Pasin said the region’s local government and the Migrant Resource Centre of South Australia were driving forces behind the report on rural migration.

“The Limestone Coast is an exemplar of how state and federal resources, combined with local community groups and supportive local councils — as well as social networks and local employers — can create positive experiences in times of rapid population change,” he said.

Senator Fierravanti-Wells and Tony Pasin MP thanked the Australian Population and Migration Research Centre of the University of Adelaide for its work in creating and publishing the case study, and the Local Government Association of South Australia for funding the project.

For more information on the Australian Government’s work in Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services through the Department of Social Services, go to www.dss.gov.au