Run fast

[Zoltan Bertok]

As The Age reported yesterday, there is considerable evidence that day-to-day management of immigration has been passing from government, which is notionally responsible for it, to employers. In the 2008-09 financial year, the number of permanent migrants, refugees and New Zealanders who arrived in Australia rose by 12.8 per cent. Yet that figure alone seriously understates the real increase, which must include 657,124 temporary migrants with the right to work, an increase of 11 per cent. Nearly half of these temporary migrants were international students.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/editorial/time-for-a-reality-check-on-immigration-policy-20090831-f586.html?page=-1

[Susan Wareham McGrath]

"...there is considerable evidence that day-to-day management of immigration has been passing from government, which is notionally responsible for it, to employers..."

The Age omitted mention of a further major behind-the-scenes player - unions....