12 June 2009

New centre opened for people emigrating to Australia

A new migrant resource centre has been opened for people emigrating to Australia. Stationed in Clarkson, Western Australia, the new Metropolitan Migrant Resource Centre (MMRC) will provide multiple services to help people emigrating to Australia to settle into their new community.

Although emigrating to Australia can be an easy process for people coming from English-speaking nations or for people with financial or family support already settled in Australia, for many others the task is daunting, particularly for refugees.  For these reasons, the Australian immigration department has set up centres to minimise the issues associated with emigrating to Australia so that Australian immigrants can quickly settle and start making a positive contribution to the community.

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Chris Evans has acknowledged the increasing number of people emigrating to Australia by opening another centre in Perth's northern suburbs, which carries over services provided at the Mirrabooka centre.

"The MMRC has made a real difference to the lives of many new migrants and refugees by helping them to settle and acquire the crucial skills and knowledge about life in Australia," Senator Evans said.

"Their programs help new West Australians make the cultural transition and become self reliant so they can make a valuable contribution to our society and the economy."

Funding for the centre will go towards assisting migrants entering through the family and spouse visa stream, refugee stream, and dependents of Australian skilled visa holders who have low levels of English and live in rural and regional areas of Australia.

"It is heartening to see that many people who most need support will get the best available service when they resettle in Western Australia," Senator Evans said.

"Australia is a multicultural nation that has been enriched by the cultures and traditions of migrants from more than 200 countries."

According to the government, nearly half of the Australian population was either born offshore or has at least one parent who was born offshore, meaning that most of the 21 million who call Australia home are first or second generation migrants.

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The Australian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people with emigrating to Australia.