Concordia Pacific Migration Lawyers in Ultimo, New South Wales | Immigration lawyer

Concordia Pacific Migration Lawyers

Locality: Ultimo, New South Wales

Phone: +61 434 006 948

Address: Level 3, 276 Pitt Street 2000 Ultimo, NSW, Australia

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25.01.2022 The New York Times has recently (15 November 2013) published two very compelling companion pieces about the unemployment crisis that is affecting young people in European countries (Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece and Ireland) that are still struggling with the economic impact of the global financial crisis and the wrongheaded austerity policies imposed by their governments (links provided at bottom of this post). The articles report that the levels of unemployment among peop...le under 30 are at levels comparable to the Great Depression of the 1930s (for example, in Spain unemployment among people under 24 is an unimaginable 56%!). Many of the people described in the articles are highly educated in fields like nursing, law, business, journalism, international development and others, but have been unable to find any permanent jobs in their home countries. The articles explain that a large number of these young people have been forced to leave their home countries to find any type of work, and have taken low-wage jobs outside their chosen fields just to have any kind of work at all. The circumstances described in these articles are truly heartbreaking, as they illustrate just how difficult it has been for so many highly educated, talented and energetic young people to get a meaningful start with their working lives, and how much hardship they have suffered. They also show how the horrible economic conditions in these European countries are causing their societies to lose the fantastic contributions these people have to offer. The articles are a reminder of how utterly stupid current government policies are that promote austerity and "debt reduction" instead of economic growth and job creation. As the Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman keeps pointing out in his wonderful editorials in the Times, the economic lessons that should be obvious from the experience of the Depression are being totally ignored. While it is surely not a complete answer to the problems described in the articles, migration to Australia may be one alternative that would enable some young people to find rewarding work possibilities. Australia is suffering from a "skills shortage" in a number of fields. Young people under 30 who want to find out whether they would like living in Australia might explore the possibility of an extended stay through a Working Holiday (open to passport holders from Italy and Ireland). Another possibility would be for these people to consider coming to Australia through the General Skilled Migration Program or through finding an Australian employer to sponsor them through the "457" visa program. Links to the Times articles are at http://www.nytimes.com//youth-unemployement-in-europe.html and at http://www.nytimes.com//w/europe/voices-of-the-young.html

23.01.2022 Concordia Pacific Migration Lawyers is a boutique law firm which concentrates in the field of Australian migration law. The practice of the firm is carried out by the principal, Michael Arch, a lawyer with more than 34 years of experience in Australia and the United States. Michael is a Registered Migration Agent (Migration Agent's Registration Number 1386469 and is a member of both the Migration Alliance and the Migration Institute of Australia, the leading associations for ...migration agents. Michael regularly contributes articles on migration law topics to Migration Alliance's website, which can be found at the following link: http://migrationalliance.com.au/. Concordia assists clients with all types of Australian visas, including student, family and work visas. We are currently running an open forum on migration issues, and we invite you to post your questions on our page! We can also answer your questions confidentially and in more detail by email, at [email protected].

06.01.2022 The ABC "Four Corners" and the New York Times Magazine have each done excellent stories this week (17 and 18 November 2013) on the tragic circumstances facing asylum seekers who try to reach Australia by boat from Indonesia - links to the stories are at the end of this post. The stories both describe the harsh conditions and extreme peril that asylum seekers encounter when making the journey from Indonesia. The boats, provided by unscrupulous "people smugglers" are unseaworth...y, overcrowded and lack basic safety equipment like life jackets, fresh water and toilet facilities The ABC story describes how 44 of 72 people on one boat drowned after it capsized, 18 of them children. Over the last several years, approximately 1000 people have lost their lives trying to make the passage from Indonesia. The ABC story also illustrates that many asylum seekers are attempting to escape terrifying conditions in their home countries: the people in the ABC Four Corners Story came from a village in northern Lebanon that has become engulfed in sectarian conflict spilling over the border from the Syrian civil war. The New York Times Magazine article points out that those asylum seekers who are fortunate enough to survive the dangerous open-sea crossing to Australia from Indonesia are subject to lengthy periods of immigration detention in Papua New Guinea or Nauru - places that are harsh environments and culturally alien to the asylum seekers, many of whom are from Afghanistan or countries in the Middle East (Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan). These two pieces in the Times and on Four Corners should be required reading/viewing for all Australians, and should pose the most serious questions about Australia's current "approach" to dealing with asylum seekers. Surely, Australia and Indonesia should be able to develop cooperative arrangements for carrying out search and rescue operations in the waters between the two countries to save as many people as possible from unseaworthy vessels that have run into trouble. And surely, Australia should be able to find a way, consistent with our Western and democratic values, to treat the asylum seekers who do reach our shores with decency, humanity and compassion. Holding asylum seekers in lengthy detention in offshore facilities and in harsh living conditions is simply wrong and unjust. These cruel and ill conceived policies, promoted by both the Coalition and Labour, must be changed immediately. NY Times Magazine: http://www.nytimes.com//the-impossible-refugee-boat-lift-t ABC Four Corners: http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2013//18/3891003.htm

05.01.2022 An article that appeared in yesterday's New York Times highlights Australia's utterly disgraceful treatment of asylum seekers. The article, "Leaks Detail Abuse of Asylum Seekers Sent to Nauru by Australia, can be accessed through this link: http://www.nytimes.com//nauru-asylum-seeker-refugee-abuse. Very sadly, "both sides of politics" - Liberal and Labour - seem to have arrived at an unholy consensus that the policy of "offshore processing" of asylum seekers is somehow "a...cceptable". And unfortunately, the "offshore processing centres", like the one in Nauru, are very remote, so the horrific conditions under which asylum seekers are being held in detention are kept "out of sight, out of mind" of the Australian public. The report helps draw back the curtain on what has really been going on in these detention centres. It states that there over 2,000 "incident reports" have been written by detention staff members themselves, describing episodes of violence, including sexual assault, and self-harm, with many of the cases involving children. One can only wonder how many more "incidents" have gone unreported, but as suggested in the article, what has leaked out is almost surely only the "tip of the iceberg". At the same time, section 4AA of Australia's Migration Act contains a recital that the Australian Parliament "affirms as a principle that a minor shall only be detained as a measure of last resort". Once can only ask, indeed, demand, of all our politicians why any person is being held at an offshore processing centre while their refugee claims are being assessed. The claims by the government that "tough measures" are required in order to discourage people from making a risky voyage to Australia by sea, which is relied on to justify offshore processing, can only be described as absolute nonsense. It is long past time for Australia to stop the cruel and inhumane treatment of asylum seekers, to close all the offshore processing centres and to bring all the refugees back to Australia and provide them with decent housing and medical care while their claims for protection are being assessed.