Various commentaries on the speeches of the new head of Australia’s Immigration department, Michael Pezzullo, suggest that Australia will be looking to tighten immigration policy and possibly make it more difficult for foreigners to obtain permanent residency.

Michael Pezzullo is reported to have encouraged his staff to change the way they think about the department’s role and to question whether the “waves of settlement” in Australia’s past would or should endure, according to a report in The Australian.

In an Australian day speech to his staff he reportedly said, “…we should increasingly reframe our national self-understanding and speak more of ­engaging with the world, and not just settling our land. The vestiges of insularity and living ensconced in our sheltered land, far from our ‘home’, have passed away…

“More than settlement, we should look to become Australia’s gateway to the world, and the world’s gateway to Australia. On occasions, at times of heightened threat such as caused by terrorism or pandemics, we will need to act as the gatekeepers and, as necessary, man the ramparts and protect our borders" said Mr Pezzullo.

Tony Kevin, Emeritus Fellow at Australian National University recently wrote on the website, the conversation.com that the Australian government is in the throes of a major recasting of traditional immigration and border security doctrines and institutions. The changes are being led ‘quietly’ by its new head, Mr Pezzullo who he says has hinted that “Australia is now essentially full.

“The ‘original mission of 1945 to build the population base’ has been accomplished. Now the focus is on short-term in-and-out flows as the national interest demands” observes Mr Kevin.

Mr Kevin says that there are large gaps with Mr. Pezzullo’s doctrines. It is particularly harsh towards asylum seekers who arrive independently at Australia’s maritime borders and adds that, “[Mr Pezzullo] has no words on Australia’s international good citizen role, its responsibility to protect abroad and not contribute to wars that trigger new refugee flows, or our responsibilities to observe international conventions on the law of the sea and maritime search and rescue.

Migration Alliance members who are also MIA members:

Written reports from our sources within the MIA have indicated that at a recent MIA EGM, Angela Chan and the Board of the MIA announced (with motion proposed) to remove the 2 term limitations to Directors tenure.

Further information on this is being sought but due to the difficulty in obtaining real information from the MIA's central control area it might take a little more time.

The DIBP no longer accept Bridging Visa B's electronically.  The following is a message being sent to RMAs:

We are no longer able to accept Bridging Visa applications electronically.

It must be hand delivered to your nearest Immigration office or posted in. Posting it in may take up to 14 days to get to the Perth office for processing so it may be more beneficial to attend your nearest immigration office.

This information has been taken from the NSW government website:

NSW is introducing a selection-based invitation process in 2015. This will be implemented from February 2015 onwards.

Under the selection and invitation process for the 190 program, prospective candidates can only apply for NSW nomination if they have been selected from SkillSelect and invited by NSW Trade & Investment.

Australia’s addiction to sports and success in winning hosting bids for major international sporting events are drawing record numbers of overseas visitors to Australia with hotels and tourism operators saying occupancy rates are soaring.

Although figures are still being collated, it’s estimated around 30,000 people travelled from overseas to watch AFC matches, and another 50,000 are expected down under for the cricket, according to a report on news.com.au. Other sources put overseas visitor figures at about 20,000 annually for the Australian Open and Grand Prix. In addition to this millions of sports fans around the world get to witness television broadcasts of Australia’s prowess in hosting these events and offers snippets of the great attractions the vast country has on offer.

The three major cities all saw occupancy spike over 7 per cent from last year, according to the report. Speaking to newss.com.au, Accor Pacific Chief Operating Officer Simon McGrath said major sporting events played a vital role in growing the visitor economy.

“For many visitors the Asian Cup is not just about football, as it provides a unique incentive to visit Australia and tour around the country,” said Mr McGrath.

Australian Hotels Association CEO, Stephen Ferguson, told news.com.au that it was important the success of the big sporting events was recognised by governments at all levels.