Indonesians are seeking safe haven in Perth

By Dewi Anggraeni

MELBOURNE (JP): With a three-and-half-hour flight southeast from Jakarta, the city of Perth in Western Australia has always been a popular destination for Indonesian tourists. Who could resist a hop to the Western world, an almost complete change of environment, without breaking your wallet?

During the past few months, however, the stream of visitors from Indonesia has somewhat dried up as those who would otherwise have come have found that their rupiah has shrunk for anything beyond the essentials. Yet according to The Jakarta Post's sources in Perth, several flights from Jakarta have been fully booked.

Are the visitors coming back? Has Indonesia's economy recovered and the currency rebounded to its original level?

Alas, things are not that bright. Those who have booked the flights, it appears, are Indonesians of Chinese descent, who have been feeling increasingly unwelcome in their own homeland. Business migration applications to the Australian Embassy in Jakarta have increased dramatically, to about 140 in December, compared to 40 in the previous months. Australia is seen as a friendly country which might receive them with some warmth.

However, hopes and reality do not necessarily correlate in life. While a number of these people may qualify to migrate to this land, a bigger number might just fall through the cracks. The most likely stumbling block for them is Australia's immigration laws. Those wanting to come to live in this country will need more than a visitor's visa.

Basically, there are two major classes of visa: those that need sponsors and those that do not. Each has numerous subclasses with specific requirements. All of these, barring a request for political asylum, will have to be applied for in the country of origin.

An Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen can sponsor a spouse, a child (natural or adopted), a parent, a preferred relative, a fiancee or other dependents. So those with family ties have more chances of being accepted.

If the sponsor is not an immediate family member, the applicant can still benefit from the sponsorship provided he is less than 65 years of age or she is less than 60 and has skills needed in Australia.

An Australian prospective employer can also sponsor a nominated employee of less than 45 years of age with knowledge of vocational English, and skills needed in a particular field.

An independent applicant without a sponsor will have to prove that he has a distinguished talent in his own profession and pass the points test for skills, age and English language ability. He also needs an approved nomination from an Australian state or territory government.

An independent applicant may also qualify for the Business Skills class, provided he can prove that he has a successful business record as a business owner or part-owner, or in some cases as a senior executive employee. He also needs to show intention to be actively involved in managing a business in Australia as an owner or part-owner. This class has subclasses, covering requirements for business owners, senior executives, state or territory sponsored business owners, state or territory senior executives, and owners or part-owners of investments or businesses. The minimum investments for this class, depending on the subclass, range from US$52,000 to $1.4 million.

The immediate picture that appears from this brushstroke description of the legal requirements to migrate to Australia is that only those who have made preparations for some time will have the chance to start their lives here in the immediate future. Visitors who are coming to assess the scene may have a long way to go yet.

Perth, with a population of 1.2 million, has been chosen by most, probably because of its proximity to Indonesia and its mild subtropical weather. While some of these people may have bought properties in this city, first time visitors who are seriously considering living in Perth, thus thinking of buying a residential home, have to be aware of Australia's Foreign Investment Policy. Only those who can prove residency of a minimum of 12 months will normally have their applications approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), with the condition that when they no longer need the house, they should sell it to a citizen or a permanent resident. Thus, students, foreign executives and other business related people are covered.

Approval may also be given to applicants who want to buy residential real estate, including vacant building allotments, for development, provided continuous construction is to commence within 12 months, and once completed, the completion date and actual expenditure have to be clearly stated. They may also receive approvals to buy an apartment, a townhouse or other types of residential unit in a new development, either under construction or newly completed, provided these have not been previously occupied or sold.

In brief, unless a nonresident buys a new house, she/he will face problems having his/her application approved.

The only exception to these tight regulations is to buy properties within an area designated by the government as an Integrated Tourism Resort (ITR), such as the Gold Coast in southeast Queensland, where the operators have to report annually to the FIRB, giving all their business details. People who buy properties in such areas usually do so for pure investments, not to live in them.

At present, of the approximately 6,000 Indonesians living in Perth, half are students in secondary and tertiary institutions.

"A fair number of them are having difficulty continuing their studies because their parents can no longer fork out the amounts needed for their living expenses and tuition fees," said a minister of a church with Indonesian in his congregation.

"The consulate and the Association of Indonesian Community have been lobbying the universities so they are given special discounts or allowed to pay in several installments," added the minister, who has lost some 20 percent of his Indonesian congregation during this crisis.

There are 12 churches serving approximately 1,500 Indonesian in Perth, and the ministers are aware that more will be coming following the civil unrests in Indonesia.

Another minister told the Post that many Australian members of the church who have business connections with Indonesia are very sympathetic towards the families who suffer as the consequence of the series of unrests. "They are doing their best to assist them," he said.

In the meantime, as could be expected, there are also Australians whose sole concern is that there might be a "flood of refugees" from Indonesia in the near future. "These large numbers of workers laid off en masse, where would they turn to?" they ask.

It is not an idle worry, it seems. During an interview with Kerry O'Brien, presenter of ABC's 7.30 Report on Feb. 20, Indonesian Ambassador to Australia Wiryono Sastrohandoyo agreed that one of the ways Australia could assist was by accepting migrant workers from Indonesia.

At a media conference on Feb. 23 in Perth, questioned on the issue by journalists, Australian Federal Minister for Immigration Philip Ruddock replied that it was unlikely that Australia would consider that option. Asked what Australia would do if there were to be political asylum seekers from Indonesia, the minister answered that they would be treated the same way as those from other countries.

These worries might well draw laughter from policy-makers in Indonesia, but for the people driven by fear of further persecution and Australians, especially residents of Perth, they are no laughing matter.