At the October 2005 Pacific Islands Forum, former Prime Minister John Howard rebuffed regional pressure to create a temporary seasonal labour program for Pacific Island workers with the following words: "We always have a preference for permanent settlement for migration ... I think you either invite someone to come to your country to stay as a permanent citizen or you don't".



In the post-war decades, this bias towards permanent migration distinguished Australian policy from European-style Gastarbeiter programs that granted workers temporary entry on the basis that they would leave when their labour was no longer required.



But even in 2005, John Howard's view of Australian migration policy was anachronistic. In his first months in office in 1996, the Coalition created the new '457' visa and in the subsequent decade temporary labour migration under this category exploded (rising from around 30,000 visas issued in 1997/98 to 110,570 in 2007/08). In addition, a sharp increase in visas granted to overseas students and working holiday makers means that there are now more than half a million temporary foreign workers in Australia at any one time. Many of these workers are from countries in the Asia Pacific region, particularly China and India, and many occupy low status service jobs. Now, in the midst of an economic downturn, pressure is growing to reserve jobs for Australian citizens.



Peter Mares' (ABC) paper discusses the history of Australia's shift from permanent to temporary migration, and looks at the implications for social cohesion and Australia's relations with the region.



This seminar was presented as part of the Institute for Social Research lunchtime seminar series for 2009.