Australia's newly installed Immigration Minister, David Coleman, has indicated he'd like to revamp regional visas. In an interview with MP Singh of SBS, Mr Coleman said some towns are keen to see more migrants.
The former Assistant Finance Minister holds the marginal Sydney seat of Banks and was recently elevated to the outer ministry after the Liberal leadership spill. The immigration portfolio was separated from Peter Dutton’s Home Affairs ministry and given to Mr Coleman, along with Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs.
On the issue of Australian citizenship, the minister would not go into specifics about the government reviving plans to change the requirements to become a citizen. The controversial plans to introduce a tougher English language test, increase residency requirements and require applicants to sign a so-called ‘Australian Values statement’ were quashed by the Senate late last year. While he didn’t go into detail about English language requirements, Minster Coleman reiterated the importance of
the language.
The former Assistant Finance Minister holds the marginal Sydney seat of Banks and was recently elevated to the outer ministry after the Liberal leadership spill. The immigration portfolio was separated from Peter Dutton’s Home Affairs ministry and given to Mr Coleman, along with Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs.
On the issue of Australian citizenship, the minister would not go into specifics about the government reviving plans to change the requirements to become a citizen. The controversial plans to introduce a tougher English language test, increase residency requirements and require applicants to sign a so-called ‘Australian Values statement’ were quashed by the Senate late last year. While he didn’t go into detail about English language requirements, Minster Coleman reiterated the importance of
the language.
