Indonesians are seeking safe haven in Perth<\/p>\n
By Dewi Anggraeni<\/p>\n
MELBOURNE (JP): With a three-and-half-hour flight southeast
\nfrom Jakarta, the city of Perth in Western Australia has always
\nbeen a popular destination for Indonesian tourists. Who could
\nresist a hop to the Western world, an almost complete change of
\nenvironment, without breaking your wallet?<\/p>\n
During the past few months, however, the stream of visitors
\nfrom Indonesia has somewhat dried up as those who would otherwise
\nhave come have found that their rupiah has shrunk for anything
\nbeyond the essentials. Yet according to The Jakarta Post's
\nsources in Perth, several flights from Jakarta have been fully
\nbooked.<\/p>\n
Are the visitors coming back? Has Indonesia's economy
\nrecovered and the currency rebounded to its original level?<\/p>\n
Alas, things are not that bright. Those who have booked the
\nflights, it appears, are Indonesians of Chinese descent, who have
\nbeen feeling increasingly unwelcome in their own homeland.
\nBusiness migration applications to the Australian Embassy in
\nJakarta have increased dramatically, to about 140 in December,
\ncompared to 40 in the previous months. Australia is seen as a
\nfriendly country which might receive them with some warmth.<\/p>\n
However, hopes and reality do not necessarily correlate in
\nlife. While a number of these people may qualify to migrate to
\nthis land, a bigger number might just fall through the cracks.
\nThe most likely stumbling block for them is Australia's
\nimmigration laws. Those wanting to come to live in this country
\nwill need more than a visitor's visa.<\/p>\n
Basically, there are two major classes of visa: those that
\nneed sponsors and those that do not. Each has numerous subclasses
\nwith specific requirements. All of these, barring a request for
\npolitical asylum, will have to be applied for in the country of
\norigin.<\/p>\n
An Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New
\nZealand citizen can sponsor a spouse, a child (natural or
\nadopted), a parent, a preferred relative, a fiancee or other
\ndependents. So those with family ties have more chances of being
\naccepted.<\/p>\n
If the sponsor is not an immediate family member, the
\napplicant can still benefit from the sponsorship provided he is
\nless than 65 years of age or she is less than 60 and has skills
\nneeded in Australia.<\/p>\n
An Australian prospective employer can also sponsor a
\nnominated employee of less than 45 years of age with knowledge of
\nvocational English, and skills needed in a particular field.<\/p>\n
An independent applicant without a sponsor will have to prove
\nthat he has a distinguished talent in his own profession and pass
\nthe points test for skills, age and English language ability. He
\nalso needs an approved nomination from an Australian state or
\nterritory government.<\/p>\n
An independent applicant may also qualify for the Business
\nSkills class, provided he can prove that he has a successful
\nbusiness record as a business owner or part-owner, or in some
\ncases as a senior executive employee. He also needs to show
\nintention to be actively involved in managing a business in
\nAustralia as an owner or part-owner. This class has subclasses,
\ncovering requirements for business owners, senior executives,
\nstate or territory sponsored business owners, state or territory
\nsenior executives, and owners or part-owners of investments or
\nbusinesses. The minimum investments for this class, depending on
\nthe subclass, range from US$52,000 to $1.4 million.<\/p>\n
The immediate picture that appears from this brushstroke
\ndescription of the legal requirements to migrate to Australia is
\nthat only those who have made preparations for some time will
\nhave the chance to start their lives here in the immediate
\nfuture. Visitors who are coming to assess the scene may have a
\nlong way to go yet.<\/p>\n
Perth, with a population of 1.2 million, has been chosen by
\nmost, probably because of its proximity to Indonesia and its mild
\nsubtropical weather. While some of these people may have bought
\nproperties in this city, first time visitors who are seriously
\nconsidering living in Perth, thus thinking of buying a
\nresidential home, have to be aware of Australia's Foreign
\nInvestment Policy. Only those who can prove residency of a
\nminimum of 12 months will normally have their applications
\napproved by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), with the
\ncondition that when they no longer need the house, they should
\nsell it to a citizen or a permanent resident. Thus, students,
\nforeign executives and other business related people are covered.<\/p>\n
Approval may also be given to applicants who want to buy
\nresidential real estate, including vacant building allotments,
\nfor development, provided continuous construction is to commence
\nwithin 12 months, and once completed, the completion date and
\nactual expenditure have to be clearly stated. They may also
\nreceive approvals to buy an apartment, a townhouse or other types
\nof residential unit in a new development, either under
\nconstruction or newly completed, provided these have not been
\npreviously occupied or sold.<\/p>\n
In brief, unless a nonresident buys a new house, she\/he will
\nface problems having his\/her application approved.<\/p>\n
The only exception to these tight regulations is to buy
\nproperties within an area designated by the government as an
\nIntegrated Tourism Resort (ITR), such as the Gold Coast in
\nsoutheast Queensland, where the operators have to report annually
\nto the FIRB, giving all their business details. People who buy
\nproperties in such areas usually do so for pure investments, not
\nto live in them.<\/p>\n
At present, of the approximately 6,000 Indonesians living in
\nPerth, half are students in secondary and tertiary institutions.<\/p>\n
"A fair number of them are having difficulty continuing their
\nstudies because their parents can no longer fork out the amounts
\nneeded for their living expenses and tuition fees," said a
\nminister of a church with Indonesian in his congregation.<\/p>\n
"The consulate and the Association of Indonesian Community
\nhave been lobbying the universities so they are given special
\ndiscounts or allowed to pay in several installments," added the
\nminister, who has lost some 20 percent of his Indonesian
\ncongregation during this crisis.<\/p>\n
There are 12 churches serving approximately 1,500 Indonesian
\nin Perth, and the ministers are aware that more will be coming
\nfollowing the civil unrests in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Another minister told the Post that many Australian members of
\nthe church who have business connections with Indonesia are very
\nsympathetic towards the families who suffer as the consequence of
\nthe series of unrests. "They are doing their best to assist
\nthem," he said.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, as could be expected, there are also
\nAustralians whose sole concern is that there might be a "flood of
\nrefugees" from Indonesia in the near future. "These large numbers
\nof workers laid off en masse, where would they turn to?" they
\nask.<\/p>\n
It is not an idle worry, it seems. During an interview with
\nKerry O'Brien, presenter of ABC's 7.30 Report on Feb. 20,
\nIndonesian Ambassador to Australia Wiryono Sastrohandoyo agreed
\nthat one of the ways Australia could assist was by accepting
\nmigrant workers from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
At a media conference on Feb. 23 in Perth, questioned on the
\nissue by journalists, Australian Federal Minister for Immigration
\nPhilip Ruddock replied that it was unlikely that Australia would
\nconsider that option. Asked what Australia would do if there were
\nto be political asylum seekers from Indonesia, the minister
\nanswered that they would be treated the same way as those from
\nother countries.<\/p>\n
These worries might well draw laughter from policy-makers in
\nIndonesia, but for the people driven by fear of further
\npersecution and Australians, especially residents of Perth, they
\nare no laughing matter.<\/p>",
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