9 in 10 Australians think immigrants improve Australian society and many think the migration levels should be increased or kept the same at least.

A poll of 1200 Australian adults in March this year has found that an overwhelming number of Australians believe that immigrants improve Australian society, according to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald today.

The figures from the annual poll conducted by the Australian National University also found that over 80 per cent of Australians think immigrants are good for the economy.

Less than a third thought immigrants take jobs away from people born here and a similar number felt immigrants increased crime levels.

The main area of objection is with illegal immigrants. Under half of those polled felt that the current measures against illegals are inadequate and agreed that Australia should take "stronger measures to exclude illegal immigrants". 

Australia's largest foreign mission is its embassy in Jakarta. That mission will soon be without an ambassador. Ministerial visits have also been suspended. With contact at the highest levels suspended how will it affect business and the thousands of travellers between the countries?

The Australian Government had hoped that “Indonesia would show mercy to the two young men, who have worked hard since their arrests to rehabilitate themselves and improve the lives of other prisoners,” according to a statement from the office of Foreign Minister Julie Bishop today.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran’s family and friends at this extremely difficult time” Ms Bishop said.

Ms Bishop confirmed that Australia, “will withdraw our Ambassador for consultations once the men’s bodies have been returned to the Chan and Sukumaran families...Ministerial visits will remain suspended” said Ms Bishop.

DFAT nor the DIBP have provided any information on how these measures will specifically affect business or travellers between the countries. However, according to various analysts, Australia’s reaction which as serious as it seems, will not affect the daily operations of the Australian consulates in Indonesia. It does not mean diplomatic relations have ended as the rest of the consulate will continue to operate and provide services.

DFAT’s smartraveller.gov.au website advice is to ‘exercise a high degree of caution’ on travel to Indonesia’ which is at the same overall level of advice prior to the announcement of the downgrading of diplomatic contact. 

Will Immigration minister, Peter Dutton show some heart? The Townsville boy whose mother’s visa was refused because both the delegate and the MRT considered that he would be a ‘burden on the system” has sent a letter to the minister together with a 4000 page petition with over 122,000 signatures pleading that he and his mother who have lived here for over 8 years are not deported because he suffers from autism.

Maria Sevilla is a nurse who works at the Townsville Hospital where she looks after stroke victims. Her son Tyrone suffers from autism, a developmental condition that affects, among other things, the way an individual relates to his or her environment and their interaction with other people. An estimated one in 100 people have autism; that’s almost 230,000 Australians according to Autism Spectrum Australia (ASPECT) the leading service provider for autism here.

Maria and Tyrone’s visa application was rejected by the DIBP whose decision was subsequently affirmed by the MRT. Both held that Tyrone would be a ‘burden on the system’. Apparently, neither properly gave regard to the individual circumstances of the applicants or how they could mitigate against the cost to Australian society with their personal contributions monetary or otherwise. There is no scope in the legislation for this:

“I consider that a hypothetical person with this disease or condition, at the same severity as the applicant, would be likely to require health care or community services during the period specified above" the MRTs judgement noted.

Queensland Disabilities Minister Coralee O'Rourke called DIBPs decision a "cold, heartless decision" and asked for it to be reversed.

Globe-trotting Australian, New Zealand, British and Canadian nationals have launched a major lobby aimed at eliminating immigration controls between the four Commonwealth countries.

The online petition started by 27-year old James Skinner from the UK has gathered tremendous international support with the group now claiming to have some 70,000 supporters.

Calling themselves, The Commonwealth Freedom of Movement Organisation, the group proposes that the four countries have a similar agreements like the European Union and the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement between Australia and New Zealand. The group is telling their supporters to contact their local parliamentarians and media sources to push for freedom of movement between the four countries.

According to a report on the CBC, the group says the four nations are being considered because of their “shared language, government and common law legal system and similar cultural values.”

"We are virtually the same people," CFMO director James Skinner told CBC News, referring to the four countries. "The only thing that divides us is the cover of our passports.”

"We've had that Commonwealth tie for generations and decades in the past, we've stuck together through thick and thin. [We] share the same head of state, the same native language, the same respect for the common law," Skinner told the CBC.

The head of the government-ordered ‘major research and scoping project into a quality framework for education agencies’ says that ‘the $16 billion international education industry is far more regulated than most’ and ‘Australia already has the mechanisms in place to ensure overall quality assurance in a highly regulated industry.’

Taking issue with ABCs Four Corners investigation, “Degrees of Deception” which revealed fraud by major education brokers in China, Phil Honeywood, executive director of the International Education Association of Australia has risen to the defence of education brokers asserting that the ABCs report and views of the ICAC are wrong and unbalanced.

“It is complete nonsense to suggest that such agents are unregulated.” Mr Honeywood wrote in an opinion piece published in The Australian, today.

“In China, for example, all education agents must be officially licensed and pay a bond to the government of two million renminbi ($420,000). If any Chinese student claims they received wrong or negligent advice from their agent, it is highly possible for that agent to lose both their licence and their bond.

“Equally, if any Australian university becomes aware of fraudulent practices by one of their agents, there are strong imperatives for them to cancel their agency agreement” states Mr Honeywood.

The article goes no further to say, why then these measures have not already been taken; why the government has ordered a major review of the education brokering industry; and why the fraud uncovered by ABCs hidden cameras in some of China’s biggest education brokers looked like routine practice.