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THE Federal Government will consider cutting immigration to help Australia cope with slowing economic growth and the global finance crisis.
Immigration Minister Chris Evans said he would wait for mid-year economic data to see whether unemployment was rising, and then decide whether to slash Australia's migrant intake.
He said Australia already was seeing increased interest in migration to Australia from countries like Britain which were experiencing economic downturn.
Opposition immigration spokeswoman Sharman Stone has urged the government to slash Australia's immigration intake by one quarter to help the nation cope with the increased unemployment likely to result from a slowing economy.
She said plans for a record 190,300 migrants in 2008-09 should be reduced to the 2005-06 level of 142,930.
Mr Evans said the government also would consult with industry before deciding whether or not to alter this year's migration program.
"The program was designed in the light of the forecasts for this year - strong economic growth, high inflation and a real skills crisis," he told the Nine Network.
"If those parameters are changing, the government will take a sober look at those issues and make a decision when we have got proper information."
Senator Evans said it was easy to call for a migration reduction but it was important to consider migrants actually had a positive impact on the economy.
"What we know is most migrants have better job outcomes than Australians locally. We know that they consume, they buy property and they're a net positive to the budget," he said.
"So while it's easy to call for a slow-down in migration, there are actually very strong, positive economic impacts that come from migration, particularly if you are bringing in skills that allow you to build the economy.
"And a lot of the skills that are coming in at the moment are in the mining sector, which has allowed us to increase our exports."
Senator Evans said the global financial crisis had already generated increased interest in migrating to Australia from Britain and New Zealand, both now in or close to recession.
"I think the downturn in Great Britain over the last year or two has actually seen a renewed interest from Great Britain in people looking to migrate either temporarily or permanently," he said.
"We are a global labour market these days, we compete for migrants with other countries and so changes in the global economic conditions will affect our migration program and those who are seeking to come here."
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