immigration and ageing

Ausfis is one of many private immigration agencies in Australia promoting a problematic political message that sounds like they are representing all Australians and the Australian government and which many Australians would disagree with. Should migration agencies aggressively promote immigration? It's another case of advertising taking over democracy.

https://www.ausfis.org/Home.aspx

Ausfis's talk about 'a new land of opportunity' belies the biogeophysical reality of Australia - the oldest, driest continent.

This is a link that was sent to an immigrant from Peru from someone living in Peru - about inviting migrants to come to Australia because we have opportunities and skills shortages!

It not only refers to skill shortages, but it suggests that its lawyers will get applicants citizenship after four years and encourages immigrants to bring their dependent family members to live here as well, receive health care and use the public education system.

"What are the benefits of receiving a visa via the General Skilled Worker Visa program?

The grass is greener in Australia. If you are planning to make a move outside your home country, Australia should be on the top of your list as a place to make your dreams a reality. Besides legally living and working in Australia, a Australian General Skilled Visa has other benefits,
such as:

Bringing all dependent family members with you
Receiving healthcare
Using the public education system
Applying for citizenship after 4 years!"

Immigration greatly accelerates ageing of Australia's population: FECCA

Note that FECCA has only recently published a paper "Immigration speeds up Australia's rate of aging - FECCA"calling for special funding for aged immigrants because of the way immigration ages the Australian population. Every immigrant comes here older than anyone born here, but this fact is grossly magnified by the effect of bringing dependent adults as extended family here. Between 2011 to 2026 ethnic people over 80 will increase by 59% compared with 29% in the Australian-born population. Continuing high immigration threatens to make this problem unmanagable, with stress on housing, employment, water, food and power supplies undermining democracy, health and life-expectancy.

Ausfis looks very official and could easily be mistaken for an Australian Government website and message, but it isn't. It is a private business composed of people who make money out of processing migration applications. In fact, it does clearly state what it is at the bottom of the page and the agency promotion style seems responsible. It is not doing or saying anything illegal or misleading; it is, indeed, apparently promoting government policy.

Currently immigration to Australia outweighs births over deaths. It is the main source of population growth here.

"Increased migration and fertility (2007–2011)

Source: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/2071.0main+features952012-2013
Despite the economic impacts of the global financial crisis which started in 2007 and the ongoing repercussions within global financial markets, Australia experienced strong and sustained population growth throughout the period 2007–2011 (see the graph of Annual population growth above). In 2009, the addition of 394,000 people was the highest single annual increase to Australia's population, and the annual growth rate of 1.8% was unmatched since 1972. Migration was a significant factor in the population growth during this period. For the first time since federation, migration consistently contributed more to population growth than the contribution from natural increase. However, much of this recent increase has come from increased numbers of long-term temporary migrants; those with student, holiday and business visas (for more information see Migration, Australia (cat. no. 3412.0). The effect of this high level of migration can be seen in the 25–29 years age group in 2011, where there were an additional 385,000 people compared with the numbers in this cohort when they were aged 5–9 years in 1991. "

From 2011 to 2026 ethnic people over 80 will increase by 59% compared with 29% in the Australian-born population. The rate at which Australia's population is ageing has been accelerated by immigration. Furthermore, this effect will increase. Immigration is a major contributor to the dementing demographic. These statistics run counter to the ideology peddled by the growth lobby and its promoters should be held responsible.

Australians misled by so-called 'demographic experts'

Australians have often been presented with the idea that they must submit to ever-increasing mass immigration because this will counteract our so-called 'aging population problem'.

"Immigration is the best solution for Australia's aging population, according to Bernard Salt, from KPMG."
Immigration Essential for Australia - according to expert, Australian Immigration News, Friday, 2 October 2009

However, a recent publication by the Federation of Ethnic Communities (FECCA) shows that immigration is actually making what might have been a mild problem because of baby-boomers much worse.

FECCA cannot be accused of anti-immigrant or even anti-immigration bias. The date of the FECCA publication was 2011, and based on data reflecting much lower immigration numbers than we have had in the past few years. The mind boggles at what the real size of the problem may be, especially if we continue with current numbers, let alone ramp them up.

Immigration and Aging in Australia - the facts

- The proportion of older foreign-born Australians has been growing more rapidly than the Australian-born population.

- From 2011 to 2026 ethnic people over 80 will increase by 59% compared with 29% in the Australian-born population.

- From 1996 to 2010 the proportion of over 80s in the foreign-born population increased from 16.3% to 25.9% compared with 22.9% to
27.5% for the Australian-born.

- By 2026 one in every four people aged over 80 will be from non-English speaking backgrounds.

Immigration and Dementia trends in Victoria

- One in four Australians with dementia is Victorian.

- By 2050, the number of Victorians with dementia is projected to be 246,389, nearly 4 times as many as in 2011.

- 44% of victorians were born overseas or have one parent born overseas

Immigrant ageing population

According to the Access Economics report (2006) one-sixth (16%) of people aged over 60 years spoke a language other than English at home,

while just over one-third (33%) of people aged over 60 years were born in a country other than Australia.

Around one in eight (12.4%) of Australians with dementia do not speak English at home.

In 2011, 40% of Victorians over 65 were from culturally diverse backgrounds. The older culturally diverse population will grow by 44% in the next 15 years from 2011 to 2026.

Funding is being sought to care for non-English background people with dementia because of the growing size of the problem. It is ironic that in Victoria, where the problem is worst of all, in 2002 the Premier Steve Bracks convened Melbourne's Population Summit where he and others repeatedly justified unwanted and undemocratic plans to vastly increase immigration rates with the myth that high immigration fixes the aging population problem:

"LEADING political and business leaders have joined in a call for increased immigration into Australia in a bid to speed growth and overcome the problems of an ageing population.

Among the political leaders who consider more immigrants are good for Australia are Labor Opposition leader, Simon Crean and Victorian Labor Premier, Steve Bracks.

Both spoke in favour of a higher population at a special conference in Melbourne, last month.

Australia must set population growth targets as part of comprehensive national policy or risk becoming "an ageing, declining society", Simon Crean warned."

"Major call for more migrants," Consyl Publishing & Publicity Ltd, March 2002

Where is this immigration ideology taking us? How can we sheet this disaster home to those responsible and make them stop increasing the environmental and social damage they have inflicted on this country?

NOTES

The following links were updated on 1 December 2016:

Source of all immigration and ageing factoids and their references was, "Meant to Care," Discussion Paper, Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria, 2011, Volume 1, Number 2, p.13.
http://eccv.org.au/library/file/policy/Final_eccv_Dementia_Paper_Aug_2011.pdf. A library of earlier and later sources is at http://eccv.org.au/aged-care/aged-care-policy/