The Australian Government plans to launch a visa lottery scheme in July where 3000 Pacific workers can permanently migrate with their families.
Speaking to ABC News, Australia’s International Development and Pacific Minister Pat Conroy said the scheme would allow Pacific workers with job offers in Australia to move in with their families.
“This is a revolutionary change in our permanent migration system to allocate 3000 permanent migration spots to families from the Pacific,” he said.
“This is allocating 3000 spots to Pacific families to make a new life in Australia, to deepen the Pacific diaspora in Australia and deepen our people-to-people links.
“It’s just a great way of deepening our relationship with the region.”
He said the scheme was part of the Albanese Labor Government’s initiative of increasing Australia’s engagement in the Pacific.
“We’ve increased our foreign aid to the Pacific, we’ve increased our military and security co-operation, we’ve got 35,000 Pacific workers filling labour shortages here and sending back half a billion dollars of income to their communities every year.”
He said Australia had a range of policies to support the Pacific and this was probably the most revolutionary in that spectrum.
