Regional Migration Scheme is working

The number of migrants choosing to live and work in regional areas of Australia has reached an all-time high.

Recent statistics released by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) reveal that around 18,700 visas were granted under the State Specific and Regional Migration (SSRM) scheme in the 2004-05 migration year - a 50 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.

South Australia enjoyed the biggest percentage increase in migrants settling in regional areas (139.1 per cent) followed by Western Australia (84.5 per cent). In terms of overall numbers, Victoria welcomed the most migrants into its regional areas, with 7,100 settling outside of a metropolis.

But according to immigration minister Senator Amanda Vanstone, the figures only tell half the story.

"The real story is the individuals, from a female Dutch welder working in Darwin, a Scottish hairdresser now working in South Australia's Barossa Valley to an Irish geologist working on the Western Australian goldfields."

The increase in regional immigrants was given as one of the key factors as to why Australia welcomed its largest number of skilled immigrants since the late 1980s, with 77,880 newcomers (65 per cent of the country's total immigrants) emigrating through Australia's skill stream.