Victoria will aim to attract a greater share of Australia's skilled migrant intake, Premier John Brumby announced today.

Mr Brumby said the Government wanted to boost Victoria's current share of Australia's skilled migrants from 26.8 per cent to 28.5 per cent by 2011.

He made the announcement while launching the Metropolis forum at the Sofitel Hotel, a conference about global migration being attended by 700 delegates from Australia and overseas.

He said Victoria had already boosted its share of Australia's skilled migrant intake from 17.6 per cent in 1998-99 and that skilled migration had made Victoria a "better, stronger and fairer society".

He said the new 28.5 per cent target was ambitious.
"Our economy is about a quarter of the national economy, about 25 per cent of GDP, and about a quarter of the population," said Mr Brumby.

He said Victoria's booming economy was facing the dual challenges of an ageing workforce and a growing skills shortage, while as a nation Australia faced increased competition for skilled workers from countries such as Canada.

Mr Brumby said the Government would invest an extra $8.4 million for a new Global Skills for Victoria strategy to reach the target, which is likely to equate to between 1200 and 1500 more migrants for Victoria from 2011.

Victoria will attempt to lure skilled workers from India and the United Kingdom by establishing a Victorian Government presence in both countries to market the state's lifestyle and career opportunities.

Mr Brumby said the additional money would be spent on improving a website aimed at luring prospective skilled migrants and additional support for newly arrived migrants, including employment programs in regional and rural areas.
"We really stand up in Victorian as a beacon across the world as to what a successful, diverse and multicultural community can achieve, not just in terms of social cohesion - a better and stronger community - but also in terms of a stronger economy," he said.

Earlier, while addressing the Metropolis conference, Mr Brumby made a veiled swipe at Federal Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews, who said recently that African migrants were having more problems assimilating in Australia than other migrant groups.

Mr Brumby told the conference that while migration of people posed short-term problems, in the long run multiculturalism made societies stronger.

"Some people have chosen to overstate the challenges," he said.

- Jane Holroyd, The Age
October 9, 2007