"L'Australie encourage les travailleurs à aller dans les zones rurales"

I have just found the website which deals with this issue and promotion (not especially for foreign workers, but the promotion for encouraging people in general to move to provincial Victoria - including cities, large and small towns, and the bush.

http://www.provincialvictoria.vic.gov.au/

There's also a good link on the front page which gives an overview of opportunities available in the different regions, how to find further information, and how you can contact the local government there.
It could also be useful to read just to see what makes up the very diverse economy in the regions of Victoria

Short overview:

Central:
Includes the towns of Bacchus Marsh, Kyneton, Woodend, Kilmore and Seymour. Semi-rural lifestyle and useful because of its relative closeness to Melbourne’s CBD. People are able to enjoy the benefits of living in Provincial Victoria while still regularly visiting the city.
Key industries: agriculture, specialty farming, viticulture and wine production; tourism, timber milling; manufacturing; mining; retailing.

Central West (my region)
The Central West of Victoria first prospered during the gold rush of the 1850's, and you can still see the legacy of those heady times. Grand homes and buildings, charming streetscapes, and it continues to prosper today.
Its two main cities – Bendigo and Ballarat – have a cosmopolitan atmosphere with top quality restaurants and cafes, a thriving arts scene and a full calendar of festivals and events that celebrate local wine, food, history and music. The surrounding shires are also famous for hosting some of the states top music and arts festivals.
Thousands of tourists visit the region each year to visit Sovereign Hill historical township, the traditional Chinese gardens, or simply to soak in the mineral springs at Hepburn Springs. Over 70% of Victoria's mineral water springs are found in Hepburn Springs.
Economy: thriving industries in retail, service, information technology, agriculture and viticulture, education, community services, forestry and manufacturing.
Local communities are welcoming and councils actively encourage new and established business – some through attractive incentive schemes.

(city of) Geelong and district
Among the fastest growing regional areas in Victoria. Includes Geelong and the Surf Coast. Variety of coastal, urban and rural lifestyles. Business growth areas: expanding government services, new shopping precincts, building works.
The city of Geelong is Victoria’s largest regional city, and is the leading industrial centre for Victoria’s southwest with approximately 10,000 businesses.
The nearby beaches attract local and international surfers and the region hosts thousands of holiday-makers each year.
Eco-tourism is also a major growth industry.

Gippsland (south east coast)

Lifestyle options: beach, thriving towns and cities or peaceful isolation of the high plains. The South East of Victoria includes Sale, the Latrobe City centres of Moe, Morwell and Traralgon; Leongatha, Warragul and Phillip Island. Has some of the fastest growing residential areas in Victoria.
Contains some of Victoria's best farming land, plus spectacular mountain and coastline scenery. Also home to some of the best cheesemakers.
Flourishing building industry. Growing population is approx 170,000.
Rich in natural resources: dairying, forestry, engineering, horticulture and food and wine production. The area generates 85% of Victoria’s electricity. Has been a leader in the oil & gas industry for many years.
Airports, frequent rail services to Melbourne, Monash University's Gippsland campus.

East Gippsland
Population: approx 40,000 in East Gippsland, with over 11,000 residing in the major commercial centre of Bairnsdale – a three-hour drive from Melbourne.
Nestled in the far-east corner of Victoria, the region’s landscape is diverse. Spectacular coastline, world-renowned lakes and river systems, a rugged high country, national parks and state forests.
Major industries: timber, agriculture and fishing, with Australia’s largest offshore fishing fleet based in Lakes Entrance.
Quite large recent growth in coastal towns. Developments in Paynesville, Metung and Lakes Entrance have played a major role in this growth.

Grampians Pyrenees (National Park region)
Original economic base: the goldrush in late 1800's.
Economy continues to do well today: highly acclaimed wineries, mining, textile, manufacture, wool production, agriculture, retailing and tourism.

Lower North East
Home to Mount Buller, Mansfield and Yea. Spectacular natural beauty. Lakes, rivers, snow-capped mountains and rolling hills.
Industries: agriculture, forestry, light manufacturing and food processing, a growing wine industry and service sector.

North
Northern Victoria, including Cobram, Echuca, Euroa, Kerang, Shepparton and Wedderburn offers a wide range of lifestyles – city, rural, small town or farming environments. Excellent facilities, services and amenities for business, industry and the community.
Greatest economic advantage: its position as Victoria’s leading food producer, with many national and international food processing companies head-quartered in the region. Excellent food and wines, and recreational facilities on the Murray and Goulburn Rivers.

North East
One of the fastest growing regions in Victoria. Renowned for its world-class wines and gourmet food, spectacular scenery, cultural heritage and numerous national parks. Includes Wangaratta, Wodonga, Bright, Rutherglen, Falls Creek and Mt Hotham ski resorts.
Events: active calendar of festivals and events such as the Wangaratta Jazz Festival and the Man from Snowy River Festival. Sports include:
bushwalking, fishing, horse riding, sailing and skiing, rock climbing, hang gliding and white water rafting.
Regional economy has grown from an agricultural base to one of manufacturing, transport and distribution. The area’s natural attractions including parks, forests, rivers and lakes offer great potential for eco tourism.

South West
An area of stark physical contrasts, from the beauty of the Great Ocean Rd to rainforests; farming districts, and mountains of the Southern Grampians.
Rich soil provides the basis for thriving industries in horticulture, viticulture, dairy production, cattle grazing and wool production. Wide range of industries including manufacturing, service, forestry and fishing. Attracts large numbers of tourists throughout the year.

Local communities are welcoming and councils actively promote local business – some through set-up incentive schemes. Residents can choose a wide range of lifestyles – by the sea, in the hinterlands, in small towns or larger cities. The region is home to Colac, Camperdown, Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Portland and Hamilton.

Swan Hill/Mildura
The area including Swan Hill and Mildura forms an oasis in Victoria’s northwest. Excellent mediterranean style climate, and a thriving economy.
Horticulture and viticulture are the area’s key primary industries, while cereal and wool production is strong in the dry land areas. Large numbers of tourists are attracted to the region for the wonderful waterways of the Murray River; acclaimed restaurants and wineries; annual arts, wine and food festivals; and the amazing flora and fauna of the region’s national parks.
Affordable housing within the region

Wimmera Mallee
No matter where you live in the Wimmera-Mallee, it’s only a short distance to experience this area’s clean, natural environment. Two national parks offer bush walking tracks and rivers and streams provide great fishing, swimming and water skiing. (Kate: when there's actually some water there!, which is a big problem in the last few years)

The area includes Horsham, Edenhope, Nhill, Warracknabeal, Donald, Birchip, Charlton, Sea Lake and Wycheproof.
The region is renowned for its unique community based cultural events, impressive art galleries, and annual programme of touring musicians including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Pro-active business support networks, efficient domestic and export transport networks, and a skilled and stable workforce are the foundations for the success of local businesses. The region’s economic base is its highly successful grain industry. Add to this excellent wool, livestock, viticulture, manufacturing, retail and community service industries, and the Wimmera is an appealing place to settle.


As you can see, Victoria is a diverse and interesting place, in all its different regions, and for the most part I agree with the publicity descriptions on this website: except for the Wimmera Mallee, which even for a country person like me, would be the least appealing place to settle.
Good economy, sure, but isolation, and at least 3 hours driving between larger towns, and few smaller towns, which are quite run down in many cases, with little wooden houses almost falling down. And it's often dry, dusty, and fairly unattractive. What countryside is flourishing is wheat, and it's all brown, brown, brown, especially since the worst part of the drought.
Kate

HI,

Really nice overview about the opportunities in rural landscape. I'm sure in every state/territory there are a lot of things to do.

So in a quick speach I encourage all the european and anybody else to have an other point of view on the life outside the biggest cities. (Sydney...)

I met friends from Melbourne who moved to Passion Beach, an 2 hours drive from Cairns, 1 hour to the nearest big shop and less than 1 hour to a bank. They lived in a place where there is other people, restaurants, fitness, such coming to life. There child learn in Townsville, a 4 hour drive, coming back home every 2 weeks.
Even if you live in a huge city you are not always close to a bank, a scholl you love, a shop you like.........

That's a part of Australia and no so bad. You have the most beautifull thing who's the quite wildelife. And a better quality of live.....

Kind regards,

Carine.

Si ce visa, est créé mais qu'il le soit de manière à part entière des autres, pour ma part, je suis prêt à bosser deux ans ou à monter une societe ou créer une affaire dans "le bush", enfin pas trop loin des villes quand meme. Mais si cela peut offrir un Visa permanent à l'arrivé, je me motiverais, j'ai vécu 23 ans à Paris, alors 2 ans dans le bush.....

Regional Victoria in midst of Growth boom
The Ballarat Courier, 13/4/04, P3

Brumby talks up increase in employment opportunities.

Strong investment growth across regional Victoria has made moving away from Melbourne more attractive than ever, according to the State Government.

The Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development released figures showing the government has attracted more than A$3.26 billion dollars worth of new investment in provincial Victoria over the past 4 1/2 years.

This includes 27 new investments in Western Victoria (my region), including IBM Australia’s new Asia Pacific Software Solutions Centre in Ballarat.

State and Regional Development Minister John Brumby said that since October 1999, 218 investments outside Melbourne - such as the expansion of Regal Cream Products at Colac and Vegco at Bairnsdale - had created more than 7400 new jobs.

He said recent government funded research had revealed more than 600,000 Melbournians would consider shifting to provincial Victoria if the circumstances were right. “The clear message from today’s figures is that the circumstances have never been better,” Mr Brumby said.
“There are more people working in provincial Victoria today than at any other time in our history. “

Regional Development Victoria, the new body overseeing provincial Victoria’s economic growth, has helped attract $517 million worth of net investment since July 2003.

(Also in provincial Victoria, tourism, for example, accounts for 60,000 jobs and contributes $3.5 billion to the economy).

Mr Brumby said more and more companies were recognising rural and regional areas could provide advantages such as availability of land and a stable workforce.
“Others are tapping into existing business networks like the successful automotive industry in Geelong, food processing in Shepparton and Bendigo and IT in Ballarat,” Mr Brumby said.
It’s expected the Government will announce additional funding for its advertising campaign to attract growth and investment to regional areas “Make it Happen in Provincial Victoria’ in the April economic statement.

The campaign aims to increase the annual population growth in regional Victoria to 1.25% by 2006.

More info & case studies, etc on www.provincialvictoria.gov.au

Kate

Victoria’s Population on the rise
25/3/04
Ballarat is giving Victoria’s population growth a healthy boost.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show Ballarat’s population increased by 1400 people in 2002-2003.
These figues are helping Victoria’s population growth, taking it to 4,917,400, and well on the way to the Bracks Government’s growth target of 6 million people by 2025.

“People are flocking to Ballarat because it boasts a strong economy, terrific lifestyle and excellent job opportunities,” State and Regional Development Minister John Brumby said.
Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong are growing up to 15 times faster than Darwin.
Mr Brumby acknowledged the Bracks Government’s involvement in Victoria’s population growth.
These statistics highlight that the Bracks Governments commitment to growing the whole state is paying off for provincial Victoria.
Melbourne also has the largest population increase of any capital city : 7.9%.
There is also good news for Victoria with an average jobless rate of 6.4% recorded in February, which is 0.5% lower than the same period a year earlier.

The Courier Ballarat, 16-03-04

Gone are the days when Australia could be ruled neatly down the middle into city and bush dwellers.
Australia’s coastal areas are emerging as major population centres and are helping to create a “third Australian culture” according to demographer Bernard Salt.

Mr Salt, author of ‘The Big Shift’ and partner with business advisory group KPMG, said the 4 millon Australians now living in Australia’s coastal areas outside capital cities, warrants a 3rd classification.
He dubs it the “beach culture.”

“These 4 million Australians are a sufficient critical mass, in a nation of 20 million, to support a separate and distinct 3rd Australian culture,” he said.
“It is a new beach culture that owes allegiance to neither city or bush.”

Well, well Kate!

Thank you.

That's good for our motivation!!!!

Ah bin voila qui va motiver les troupes. La beach culture, ça va attirer du monde ça.

Oui, I thought the beach culture would interest you

and now some more on regional immigration...

Push for migrant support
8/5/04
Incentives for migrants to live in regional areas are useless without funded support networks, Federal Opposition Immigration spokessman Stephen Smith said in Ballarat.
Mr Smith met with members of the Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council on Thursday to discuss issues faced by the city’s migrants.
BRMC chairwoman Sulaika Dhanapala said limited funding for migrant programmes did not meet the needs of Ballarat’s diverse migrant community.
She said increased, longer term funding was essential to install support, language and settlement programs for migrants who moved to Ballarat.
Mr Smith said although Labour would not commit to funding the Ballarat program, he believed sustained funding for migrant prgrams would create networks and incentives that would draw migrants to regional cities.
He criticized the Federal Government for a haphazard, sporadic approach to rural migration and said Labor’s migration policy would focus on a long-term strategy to grow Australia’s migrant population in regional areas.
Mrs Dhanapala said the city was not ready for the Howard Government’s new migrant incentive scheme that would come into effect from July 1.
Under the scheme, skilled migrants would be offered extra points towards permanent residency as an incentive to move to regional areas, Mrs Dhanapala said.
“I don’t think Ballarat region is ready for that...because we don’t have any settlement services.”
Liberal candidate for Ballarat Elizabeth Matuschka said she had met with members of the BRMC during recent Harmony Day celebrations and that the Federal Government had been working towards creating opportunities for skilled migrants in Ballarat. “
“Last year the Federal Government provided $50,000 to BRMC in Wendouree.”

(*K: that might sound ok, but not when you consider what kind of an 'office' this Multicultural Council still has - a small added on building to a kindergarten in one of the poorest and worst streets in the city's suburbs, and even that is shared, as part of the local Community Centre.
An office so tiny it's no wonder that the language teaching to migrants (often by volunteers) seems to be done at immigrants homes - there's no way they'd fit at the centre!)
No wonder people are still sceptical about this scheme being successful.....

It's a pity.

Kate

22/5/04

Ballarat's success as a growing, vibrant regional centre has been highlighted in a new national publication outlining how other provincial centres can draw skilled workers and new business.

"Attracting and Retaining Skilled People in Regional Australia - A Practitioner's Guide" has been launched at the Growing Regional Cities conference in Wodonga this week.
Ballarat has been used as an example to other regional cities because of its growing Information Technology sector.

At the conference, Bendigo, Geelong, Toowoomba (QLD), Newcastle (NSW) and Bunbury (WA) were also identified as potential growth hubs by the consultants presenting at the conference.

Premier Steve Bracks also addressed the conference.
He told more than 180 delegates that attracting skilled migrants to the regional centres was the key to population growth.

He used the conference to call for a 3rd significant phase of migration in Australia. He said the Victorian Government aimed to capture 25% of all skilled migrants entering Australia each year, with 1/3 of those to target regional Victoria.

While it was important to encourage migration within Australia, Mr Bracks said only international migration could provide the boost regional Victoria needed.
"We can't get effective economic growth and population increase unless we do both - that's the only way you'll make significant inroads," he said.
"By itself, shuffling people around Australia will make a bit of difference, but not a significant difference, and we need that impetus from overseas migration."
Mr Bracks said Ballarat was an example of a city built on migration.
"Ballarat would not be the vibrant provincial city it is today, except for the migration in the gold rush and the migration that has happened since."

More than 15 speakers from the private sector, local, State and Federal Governments made presentations during the 2 day conference, which followed a population summit in November 2002.


I find this all very interesting to read and note, but it's a pity that while the regional centres say they want more immigrants, communities seem ready to welcome them, even the government says they want more provincial migration, but so far the services aren't ready for them when they arrive, and the way hasn't exactly been made a lot easier for them to come....

Kate

Dear kate,
Thank your for all the information you give us in general.
Do you know if there are some new informations about qualified people who want to come in Australia as skilled migrants and who will be able to obtain from july 1 a three-year temporary residents visa if they commit to living and working in regional Australia.
My friend and me, ingeener and economist, are ready and motivated to move.We arrive in Australia at the end of september with a Working holiday visa.
You come from Victoria, that's right? Do you think there are some opportunities for us in Victoria or on an other place?
thank you very much
best regards
elsa

Je t'en prie.



I don't know about new information, but about 4 days ago in my newspaper (thecourier.com.au) there was an article which basically repeated everything that had already been said about the 3 year temporary visa for living and working in regional Australia (a reminder that it's now in effect, I guess) but there was one new line added which I thought was interesting - something about how now certain organisations in these areas in question will have the information to become a type of 'agent' (not immigration agents, I think more 'information agents') to give people help on who to direct their enquiries to. I think these agents existed before, but nobody really knew who they were to go to them for help.
I believe this 'Provincial' campaign is bigger here in Victoria than in other states and a lot of money being spent on publicity too (not to say there aren't a lot of opportunities elsewhere too, but it's just said quite often that Victoria is in a state of 'unprecedented growth' at the moment and I think their plan is a bit more strategic here...but still needs work, I'm sure.
Not sure what type, but a few months ago I was noticing a lot of job vacancies for engineers in this region. (You could see under www.jobsguide.com.au if it's still this way)

Maybe somebody should test this scheme out and see how ready communities are to receive skilled people, since it has been made official now. I wonder what would happen if a skilled potential immigrant contacted a local/regional council, announced themselves 'here I am' and asked what opportunities were available in that region.
Until I find who are the 'Agents' in Ballarat, the City of Ballarat council is the first place to approach.

Bonne chance

Kate ( - along with Alliance Francaise de Ballarat, still waiting for a 'skilled migrant' to come to Ballarat and set up a needed Creperie or French Restaurant or cafe )

PS: I found some more things on the provincial Vic. official site, which may be new....
http://www.provincialvictoria.vic.gov.a ... ntral+West

"Please forward your query to the Councils of your choice. You'll receive detailed information on the specific opportunities available in Provincial Victoria in line with your request. You'll also receive information on the best people to contact to find a job, research housing options or set up a business"
(this could, for example, refer to people re-locating from Melbourne, but since the text is on the site, technically I believe they should be able to receive any enquiries.....)
Then it gives a list of councils you can contact, and their websites to view.

Here is the one for Ballarat, par exemple.
http://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/

If anybody gives this a try, I'd be really interested to know how it goes or what early reaction you get (ie, I'd like to know if what I see printed in our newspaper so often lately is true: that we desperately want new residents in our city, new immigrants, etc...... or if that is the view of the editor and those 'in charge' and the community still has to get behind it more yet).


Besides the 'Provincial Victoria' campaign, for the past 2 years or so Ballarat also has an additional bonus for new residents which I haven't heard of elsewhere - a special 'Welcome Pack' where residents receive vouchers to get discounts off goods and services at participating stores, worth thousands of dollars. They do seem very serious about tempting people to relocate....

Voici un premier explicatif du nouveau SIR dont nous parlions. Celui-ci est plein de surprises, bonnes et mauvaises.

Merci de le lire attentivement, y compris tous les renvois et liens HTML directs, avant de poster à la suite de mon message car des villes comme Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Newcastle, Wollongong, Sydney, Perth en seront exclues, entre autres...

De plus, beaucoup de critères du SIR sont malheureusement plus proches de la PR déjà existantes que d'une planification business régionaliste et il est difficile d'interpréter certaines phrases confuses. (exemple :"...we do not expect that all the states will accept all occupations on the SOL for sponsorship !..." Cela peut vouloir dire beaucoup de choses, bonnes ou mauvaises....)

Le résumé ci-joint est très complexe et nous avons eu des premières discussions ce matin entre nous en nous posant beaucoup de questions, y compris pour les "sponsorisations" ou "nominations" par Etat particulier, qui seront très différentes selon les coins : idem pour les limites d'âge, l'alinea du non-mariage, les exclusions à la PR consécutive dans certains cas etc...

De grâce, lisez tranquillement pour l'instant. On ne sait toujours pas si le lien ou/et la forme ou/et le formulaire seront complets ou en plusieurs parties pour l'instant, puisque le POOL et les SOL sont susceptibles de changer et que dans certains cas, certains métiers n'y auront pas droit selon l'endroit ou la valeur accordée à la population ou aux skills déjà existants. (exemples : certains Etats, refusent toujours de sponsoriser des journalistes étrangers qui ne sont pas nés dans un pays dit "anglo-saxon", même s'ils écrivent un anglais formidable... D'autre part, certains Etats ont concentré leurs médias et agences de pub dans les villes centrales telles que Sydney ou Melbourne et sponsorisent rarement des consultants marketing étrangers à la campagne, surtout si cela se situe à 300 kilomètres des côtes car beaucoup d'Australiens ne parlent que l'anglais, ont leurs appointments principaux en ville, et de plus les entreprises d'export par exemple sont situées logiquement dans les grands ports de marchandises comme Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane...).

Merci d'avance.

Voici ce premier lien mis à jour ce matin ou la nuit dernière :

http://www.australia-migration.com/page ... nsored/326

Bien à vous

Marc

J'avais déjà lu la page ce matin quand on en a parlé, mais un truc m'avait échappé:A l'ouest, rien de nouveau. Dommage, c'est plutôt ce coin qui m'intéresse...

Just on a bit of a side note, continuing on from my last post, I found the article in question (The Courier, 8/7/04, p18 ).

This shows at least, the way the scheme is being marketed to US here locally.

State moves to address regional skills shortage
Regional Vic. is set to benefit from the new Skilled Independent Visa.
The 'visa' aims to settle more skilled migrants in the area to combat skills shortages.
"Skilled migrants are helping to address skill shortages in a range of occupations across regional Victoria and their contribution is essential to the future of regional economies," Youth Affairs and Employment Minister Jacinta Allan said.
Under the new visa, skilled migrants will be provided with the opportunity to look for employment and explore **lifestyle opportunities** in regional Victoria.
Prospective migrants will be settled into the region on a temporary visa.
To become eligible for permanent residency, applicants must live in regional Victoria for a minimum of 2 years and have been employed for at least 12 months during that time.

...and now for the new part....
Regional communities have the opportunity to be involved by becoming participating agents.
Warrnambool, Geelong, Colac (all these 3 are Great Ocean Raod locations) and Bendigo have already established agencies in their areas, and other regional centres are encouraged to participate.

Kate

PS I've highlighted the way they use 'lifestyle opportunities' because at the moment, especially in our corner of Victoria, it's often all I hear...lifestyle this, lifestyle that, and I'm starting to get tired of the overuse.... Real Estate ads all seem to start with something like "excellent lifestyle opportunity...." and go on to highlight the joys and beauties (and many things that I think are exaggerations too as part of the spiel) of living in the country - warm log fires, open spaces, large garden with house, space for animals, living in country town but close to larger cities (which is all possible, sure) but then they go on to add how much easier life will be, slow pace, getting back to nature, peace and quiet, etc etc etc.