Migrants from small Polynesian islands should be granted unrestricted entry to Australia, according to a University of Queensland economist.
A survey last year by Economics Department senior lecturer Richard Brown, a specialist in labour migration in the South Pacific region, found that private remittances (money and goods) sent back to family by South Pacific islanders working in Australia boosted small economies such as Tonga and Western Samoa.
Further analysis by Dr Brown revealed Pacific Island migrants who already enjoy unrestricted entry to Australia under the Trans-Tasman Agreement were no more likely to become unemployed than those who entered under one of the visaed immigration categories.
Dr Brown said this research finding was especially significant in the light of the Federal Government's recent rejection of a recommendation for free labour mobility in the region, mooted at the recent Pacific Island Forum heads of state meeting attended by Prime Minister John Howard.
Contained in a document commissioned by AusAID entitled SPARTECA - Where to next? authored by Professor Ron Duncan of the Australian National University, the recommendation forms part of a proposed Economic Association of Pacific island nations including Australia and New Zealand.
'The government-to-government economic relationship between Australia and South Pacific island nations in the form of foreign aid receives a lot of attention but these private, family-to-family remittances are far more important, making up more than 50 per cent of total gross national income of both Tonga and Western Samoa. But, most of these transactions are hidden in informal transactions and do not receive the same attention as foreign aid.'
Dr Brown said his research indicated that unrestricted access posed minimal risk of unskilled South Pacific migrants flooding Australia and living on welfare.
Under the Trans-Tasman Agreement, anyone with a New Zealand passport currently enjoyed unrestricted entry to Australia and this privilege extended to thousands of Pacific islanders who, for historical reasons, had easy access to New Zealand citizenship, Dr Brown said.
'We're not talking about massive numbers of people on the move. The total population of the region, excluding Fiji and Papua New Guinea, is only two million. The combined population of small, Polynesian islands such as Tonga, Western Samoa, Tuvalu, Niue, Tokelau and Kiribati only numbers a few hundred thousand. Just 6000 Tongans and 6000 Western Samoans are already resident in Australia,' he said.
'To reject the proposal on the grounds that it would violate Australia's ?non-discriminatory' immigration policy is total nonsense, given that anyone with New Zealand citizenship already enjoys positive discrimination in not being required to obtain a visa for Australia residence.
'What is being proposed is for this positive discrimination to be extended to all citizens of other Pacific islands as well, particularly those who depend heavily on migrants' remittances such as Tongans and Western Samoans.
'This should appeal to the Australian taxpayer as migrant workers would not only bring skills into Australia and earn income for themselves, but would also contribute to the economic development of their home countries and the region as a whole.
'These remittances could eventually replace Australian foreign aid.'
Dr Brown said unrestricted entry for some islanders had not contributed to higher unemployment rates because of the selection mechanisms in migrant-sending countries.
'Families in these countries carefully self-select who will be sent to work abroad. The chosen person is usually educated and skilled. The families invest in education with a view to ?exporting' family members. Only the best are sent overseas to work,' he said.
'If unrestricted entry to Australia by those currently resident in New Zealand is not associated with higher unemployment rates, it is doubtful extending the privilege to other Pacific islanders will change this.'
The return on the family's investment in human capital came in the form of remittances, Dr Brown said.
'My research shows that goods sent home from Australia by South Pacific islanders include secondhand clothing, car parts and agricultural equipment in packages ranging from small parcels to big containers, a significant part of which is used for investment or re-sold in local markets,' he said.
'Remittances and the profits on sold goods are re-invested in the local economies in areas such as the construction, commerce and agriculture. Traditional root crops such as taro are then sent back - often in the same container - for sale to the local Pacific island community living in Australia.
'Many of these nations are already heavily dependent on exporting skilled labour to countries such as Australia and New Zealand. Very limited prospects exist for their domestic economies to develop because of tiny populations.'
Dr Brown said Economics Department staff continually participated in research projects concerning the Asia-Pacific region. He recently received a two-year, $56,000 Australian Research Council large grant to examine intra-Asian labour migration, with the Philippines and Taiwan as country studies.
For more information, contact Dr Brown on telephone (07) 3365 6716 or (07) 3365 6570 or email brown@commerce.uq.oz.au
