This initiative is spearheaded by Mark Glazbrook, RMA, who has sent the following email to Migration Alliance.  We support Mark's initiative and provide a copy (with permission) of Mark's email below.  Please contact Mark directly should you wish to contribute.

Currently I am trying to raise $30-$35K from interested groups towards getting economic research undertaken into the net economic benefits that can be achieved in SA through the introduction of an economic migration program.  This is focused on SA as this is the local economy that I know very well.  The overall plan would be based nationally to eligible jurisdictions.

These are a couple of recent media releases from Nick Xenophon about Nick and Jacqui Lambie introducing a private members bill and some of the work I have been doing with him.

Below is information sent by reader Maggie Taaffe last Friday.

Hi Peter

Please see my email to the AAT below and the response.
Cheers

Earlier this year a Federal Circuit Court judge set aside a decision of the MRT affirming a decision by the Department to refuse a student visa.

The judge held that a student visa applicant wishing to (ultimately) settle in Australia did not fail to meet the requirement that overseas students must have an intention to “genuinely to stay in Australia temporarily.”

Below is an extract from his judgement

38 The Tribunal made a jurisdictional error by assuming that the applicant’s wishing to settle in Australia in the long term, if given the opportunity, implied that the applicant did not intend genuinely to stay in Australia temporarily. The Tribunal thus failed to consider whether the applicant intended to return to her home country at the end of the period for which the Subclass 573 visa she applied for would be valid.
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/FCCA/2015/1971.html

The following email has been received by Liana Allan of Migration Alliance today:

"Thank you for your email of Wednesday 2 September where you sought information about the OMARA.  The 2014  Review of the OMARA recommended that the OMARA be fully integrated back into the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

This integration was completed with effect from 1 July 2015 and the OMARA now sits in the Visa and Citizenship Services Group of the Department which reports to the Secretary of the Department. The OMARA now reports directly to Ms Mary-Jane Jones, Regional Director NSW/ACT.

A few people have rung the OMARA on 1300 226 272 today.  One of those was an RMA.

Both times when the OMARA was asked who their CEO was, they said they had none.  They also responded that Dora Chin Tan (previous Acting CEO) is no longer the Acting CEO and has gone to work in Canberra at the DIBP. 

On a telephone call to the above number at 4:20om AEST today, an RMA (who does not wish to be named), spoke to Brad at the OMARA.