‘We need to make sure it’s realistic’: Liberty Victoria president weighs in on immigration plan

Liberty Victoria president Jessie Taylor says the devil is in the detail for the Federal Government’s plan to ease mounting population pressure in Melbourne and Sydney.

New visa conditions would require migrants to settle outside the major cities for up to five years.

Ms Taylor, who also works as a lawyer, said it depended on whether there were job opportunities to sustain growth in regional centres.

Neil Mitchell glad to see a population plan on the political agenda

“It depends on the detail, this is the kind of idea that might have some merit in terms of encouraging people to move to regional centres, where there’s a real need for people, workers,  for injection into the economy, a bit of vibrancy,” she said.

“But coercing it and forcing people to do it…

“There are some regional areas that desperately need those people coming and bringing those resources, but what we need to consider is whether they can guarantee they will have certain hours of work available to them.

“We need to make sure that people are not being lumped into regional centres where they are not welcome.”

She said often the work in regional areas was seasonal.

“We need to make sure it’s realistic for people,” she said.

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