Tens of Thousands Leave Oz Permanently Each Year and Increasing

[Burnett]

Aussies Leaving Australia Permanently & Other Departure Tid-bits

 

Poms in Oz are not the only one saying Goodbye

 

‘ Australians Heading Overseas: Is Our Country Too Boring ? ‘

 

asks the headline of one year ago

 

 

‘ 6 Million Aussies a year are going overseas ‘

 

 

They’re not holidaying on the Gold or SunshineCoasts or Cairns and cite ‘no buzz’ as one of the reasons, with many more saying Aussie customer service and attitude is poor (see Comments beneath the article at link

 

http://blogs.smh.com.au/travel/travellerscheck/2009/08/24/australiansare.html

 

 

 

Skilled Australians' departure at record

(from an October 2008 article)

 

Australia has experienced its biggest annual exodus on record with 76,923 people leaving the country permanently in 2007-08, a new report shows. (the Australian government places that figure even higher, with 81,018 leaving permanently, see link with asterisk below)

 

And it appears the skills crisis is only set to worsen with the report showing almost half of those who left Australia permanently were in skilled jobs.

 

 

Almost two thirds of those who left the country permanently were aged between 25 and 54.

 

 

 

Skilled Australians' departure at record

 

* Australian Immigration Fact Sheet 5. Emigration from Australia

 

 

 

Of the 81 018 people who departed permanently in 2008-09, 49.1 per cent were born overseas. When compared with the 2007-08 figures (49.1 per cent) the most recent figures suggest that permanent departures among the overseas-born remain fairly steady.

 

 

 

A majority of these emigrant groups returned to their country of birth.

 

 

 

Example: New Zealand (80.9 per cent), United Arab Emirates (73.3 per cent), United States of America (71.4 per cent), Singapore (63.0 per cent) and the United Kingdom (53.5 per cent).

 

 

 

Most (79.2 per cent) overseas-born people who left Australia permanently in 2008-09 had lived here for more than five years. However, a significant proportion (13.9 per cent) departed after less than two years' residence in Australia.

 

 

In 2008-09, 41 249 Australia-born people departed permanently. This figure includes the Australia-born children of former settlers.

 

 

Overwhelmingly, the Australia-born are emigrating to the United Kingdom, New Zealand or the United States.

 

In 2008-09 , 46.8 per cent of Australian-born emigrants went to one of these three countries. The next most popular destinations were Singapore (8.2 per cent) and the United Arab Emirates (7.4 per cent).

 

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/05emigration.htm

 

 

 

' The number of people leaving Australia has increased significantly in recent years. In 2002-2003, a record number of 50,463 people left with the intention of staying away permanently. Long-term departures (people intending to leave for 12 months or longer) have also reach unprecedented levels : 171, 466 in 2001-2002.

 

 

 

Australia is commonly categorised as a country of immigration, but it has also become a country of significant emigration, according to this government website. Further information at link:

http://www.aph.gov.au/library/Pubs/rn/2003-04/04rn54.pdf

[Burnett]

So, for those of you thinking of departing Oz (and those already planning to do so)

 

You're far from alone

 

You're not a failure

 

You're not a 'whinging Pom'

 

You have a lot of company, and many of them are home-grown Aussies

 

So buck up

 

Don't knock yourselves around

 

Don't feel you have to justify yourselves

 

Put your shoulders back

 

Look to your future

 

Take it in your stride

 

You have nothing to feel bad about

 

Be happy and to you, All the Very Best : )

[Skani]

That's what is meant by a global economy!

Goods travel between countries.

People ditto.

Jobseekers ditto.

 

6 Million Aussies a year are going overseas

 

 

That's funny:err: - one of the criticisms of Australians I have read on here more than once is that they are too insular - they don't have passports, don't travel overseas, don't know what the rest of the world is like.

 

Thankyou for pointing out that more than a quarter do all those things each year.

[Petals]

Aussies and Kiwis have been travelling overseas for a long long time and back in the sixties everyone saved up and went overseas when they were young.

 

As for travel now just like people in Europe go for deals in other countries no different for those down under.

 

As for settling overseas lots do that too. My nephew is living in UK now, one of my best friend's sons has a business in London.

Another friend's son is working in the USA as a physicist.

 

So does it really matter and as for returning to the UK if people do not like it here think no-one really cares, they are just interested and making conversation most of the time when they say stuff.

[Burnett]

 

JOHN McCarthy from the Courier Mail gives his opinion on why Australia is failing as a tourist destination:

 

 

 

 

 

TOURISM officials are wondering what has happened to Australia that has caused a slump in overseas and domestic tourists.

 

 

 

Easy. We're boring, expensive, distant and difficult.

 

The number of Australians heading overseas for holidays has almost doubled in the past decade.

 

 

 

 

For some reason, the tourism industry feels this is an abandonment but it really comes down to the fact that . . . well, why would anyone holiday here?

 

 

 

 

 

One-time ambassador for Australian tourism Paul Hogan summed it up by saying that despite how we thought about ourselves, the rest of the world didn't really believe we were that special.

 

 

 

 

We had become so five-minutes-ago.

 

 

"Everyone has nice beaches and waterfalls and museums and things like that," Hogan said.

 

 

Adding further insult is that the two most recent tourism campaigns - using Lara Bingle and then the ill-fated and hideously expensive spin-off from the Australia movie - have not reaped the expected rewards.

 

When Bingle asked, "where the bloody hell are you?" Britain and Europe replied ........ "In nice and interesting places like Spain, Italy and France, thanks for asking."

 

 

 

 

 

When the Australia movie spin-off tried to lure them, those who had seen the film were paralysed by boredom. Those who hadn't seen the movie thought the ad was a Lux commercial.

 

Australia managed to poke its head above the pack for a while because we were safe, English-speaking, warm and cheap.

 

 

 

 

But cheap doesn't work when the local currency is above US80 and, let's face it, nowhere is safe any more.

 

 

 

 

 

That leaves warm and English-speaking --- to counteract the boring, expensive, distant and difficult.

 

 

 

After the novelty value of kangaroos and koalas wore off, Europeans saw us for what we were: England with better weather and less whingeing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australia 'boring,too expensive' | News.com.au

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Burnett]

 

 

Why not holiday on the Great Barrier Reef, for example?

 

Well, have you seen the prices? We've been there and seen the bleached coral. The reefs on the Sinai Peninsula and Fiji were superior, more fun, less crowded and had a big point of difference: there was a sense of discovery.

 

 

Sydney? Spent 12 years there. It's just a bigger Gold Coast.

 

 

Melbourne? Hate shopping and art galleries and I look washed out in black.

 

 

Adelaide? Ummm.

 

 

Perth? Are you kidding?

 

 

Regional Australia? See Adelaide.

 

 

Kakadu? My annual income remains below seven figures.

 

 

Uluru (Ayers Rock)? Let's see. Fly to Alice Springs, drive for a day to marvel at a rock. Fly home again. Hold me back!

 

 

Tasmania? Love to, but have to keep something to do in retirement or possible brain-injury rehabilitation.

 

Face it, if we don't want to holiday here, why would anyone else?

 

 

If you consider that the buying power of the Australian dollar has escalated so much in the past year and that airfares, particularly to the US, have plummeted, why wouldn't you take the opportunity to holiday overseas?

 

Australia 'boring,too expensive' | News.com.au

 

 

 

 

It could also be asked: If Aussies don't even want to holiday in Oz --- why would anyone expect people to want to migrate and live in the places Aussies aren't even interested in visiting ?

 

 

 

 

[Skani]

"And all those other more interesting countries don't detain me for not paying my tax bill", (almost) added Paul Hogan.

[Skani]

[

If Aussies don't even want to holiday in Oz --- why would anyone expect people to want to migrate and live in the places Aussies aren't even interested in visiting ?

 

 

Beats me...you'll have to ask the 300,000 who entered last year.

And the several hundred thousand in the queue at the moment.

[Guest famousfive]

So, for those of you thinking of departing Oz (and those already planning to do so)

 

You're far from alone

 

You're not a failure

 

You're not a 'whinging Pom'

 

You have a lot of company, and many of them are home-grown Aussies

 

So buck up

 

Don't knock yourselves around

 

Don't feel you have to justify yourselves

 

Put your shoulders back

 

Look to your future

 

Take it in your stride

 

You have nothing to feel bad about

 

Be happy and to you, All the Very Best : )

I have not read the links you have provided yet but I just thought I would reply to this post.I applaud you,this needs to be read and said by those considering a return home because even though we know our reasons it is at times hard to articulate that to others without being looked at as mad and made to feel we must justify such a decision.By this I do not mean here on PIO but in the wider community.I for one feel I do not need to justify to anyone my decision to return home.My reasons are simple.....I like it there.

 

On the flip side,those travelling to Aus have no reason to justify their move either.....they like it here.

[Burnett]

Beats me...you'll have to ask the 300,000 who entered last year.

And the several hundred thousand in the queue at the moment.

 

 

And of those 300,000 --- how many were non-English-speaking migrants from the 3rd world ?

 

And of that majority of 3rd worlders --- how many had been knocked back by the US -- the UK -- Scandinavia -- Germany -- Canada ................. all of which were their preferred destinations, with Australia being their final chance to get to the West and those alleged streets paved with Golden Welfare ?

 

LOL. .... those from the Sub Continent for example, try to get into the US -- get knocked back. So try to get into Canada as a * WAY * (they think) of jumping the border into the US. Some manage to get into Canada under student-visas. They * STILL * haven't managed to get across to the US. Then their visa runs out and they have to leave Canada. Oh the horror of having to return home. So from Canada -- they apply to get into Australia (with plans to return to Canada and their determination to cross to the US later on)

 

and of course, the non-fussy Aussie government says, ' Sure, come to Oz. Pretend to be studying nursing or accounting and after a bit we'll give you permanent residency status, ok ? '

 

So the 3rd worlders accept the Aussie offer with pretty poor grace. And they ' put up with ' Australia for as long as it takes to get PR status

 

and * THEN * they make another try at Canada

 

with their goal always to get themselves to the United States (because they've seen the movies, you dig. And they believe .. and you'll never convince them otherwise ... that the US is ' where it's at '. And they believe ... because they want to ... that their mediocre IT skills will put them in Silicone Valley and then on and upwards to glory

 

So sure -- if a nation's government is desperate to increase population and thus consumerism and more money for that government to chuck around ... sure, that government will not be fussy. And Australia is not fussy at all

 

 

But * OF * those 300,000 ----- why not peruse the post at the top of this thread for the numbers departing Australia each year, on permanent and semi-permanent basis ? 171,000 plus, according to government figures

 

 

.

[Guest JulieW]

Thanks, Burnett, for raising the interesting point of why Australian tourist numbers are falling. I have also been asking myself lately why anyone would want to holiday here when there are so many places with better weather, safer beaches, more beautiful countryside, more culture and history, more theme parks, shorter distances between places, more variety, better shopping and shorter flights for Europeans and Americans.

[Skani]

Thanks, Burnett, for raising the interesting point of why Australian tourist numbers are falling.

 

They aren't - they have actually increased in the year ending March 2010.

 

 

"... international visitor arrivals to Australia in the

year ending March 2010 increased 3% on the previous year, following almost two years of declines.

A total of 5.26 million international tourists visited the country in the year ending March 2010.

The number of nights international travellers spent in Australia also grew (+5%), contributing to a 4% growth in

international visitor expenditure"

 

http://www.tourismtasmania.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/44551/snapshot_int_mar10.pdf

[Skani]

Interestingly, 62% of international visitors to Australia were return visitors -

 

http://www.tourismtasmania.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/44551/snapshot_int_mar10.pdf

 

So they were obviously so bored the first time that they were willing to spend a lot more time and money repeating the boredom.

[Guest famousfive]

This thread caught my eye,especially the number of international visitors coming to Australia.On reading the figure of 5.26 million my first thought was that this seemed a very low number for a country of such natural beauty.Having worked in the Irish tourism industry I know that Ireland had a drop in tourism of 11.6% in 2009 bringing the number of international tourists down to 6.9 million,the figure is usually around 8 million.

 

Australia,by contrast, has fewer international tourists.All this seems to show is that Aus is further to travel for many people and this of course effects the numbers travelling here in the first place and more importantly making a return trip whether they would like to or not.

 

I do not for one minute wish to butt in on what seems to be a personal debate about the popularity of this country but it seems to me the figures don't really make any difference.Ireland is a tiny country that gets more than it's fair share of tourists,as does the UK and Australia.This in no way proves a point that these countries are better or worse than any other country in the world.I certainly would not move to or return from any of these beautiful countries because they were popular or indeed unpopular with other people.

 

In fact,I can honestly say I never moved here because I thought it was better-just different.

[starlight7]

I guess it's horses for courses. Every country in the world has its good and bad points. I feel sorry for those who don't settle for one reason or another- it must be difficult for them and so often they return and then don't really settle back in the UK either.

[northernbird]

What is interesting to note is that generally the type of person posting and commenting on this kind of thread is the person returning to UK. Almost like they are the ones justifying their decisions to leave.

[Guest guest30038]

What is interesting to note is that generally the type of person posting and commenting on this kind of thread is the person returning to UK. Almost like they are the ones justifying their decisions to leave.

 

Ditto, but northernbird, dontchaknow that those who don't post this type of comment are the ones with rose tinted specs on? :biglaugh:

 

kev

[Cerberus1]

Not really sure of the point that was being made by the OP, but I suggest that the fact that more Aussie's than ever are holidaying overseas is down to the exchange rate which suddenly makes a lot of overseas destinations far more affordable and linked with this is the competition between more budget airlines who are flying from Oz to overseas destinations, and I don't think there's much correlation in wanting an overseas vacation and wanting to migrate. Conversely, the exchange rate has made Australia an expensive destination to visit in the last couple of years, coupled with the fact that most western economies didn't fair as well as Oz during the GFC, so less disposable income available to spend on long haul holidays down under.

The bottom line is that Net migration has increased year on year for the last 8 years. Every year, the number of people arriving permanently in Australia is around double the number of people leaving.

[harrisj67]

Not really sure of the point that was being made by the OP, but I suggest that the fact that more Aussie's than ever are holidaying overseas is down to the exchange rate which suddenly makes a lot of overseas destinations far more affordable and linked with this is the competition between more budget airlines who are flying from Oz to overseas destinations, and I don't think there's much correlation in wanting an overseas vacation and wanting to migrate. Conversely, the exchange rate has made Australia an expensive destination to visit in the last couple of years, coupled with the fact that most western economies didn't fair as well as Oz during the GFC, so less disposable income available to spend on long haul holidays down under.

The bottom line is that Net migration has increased year on year for the last 8 years. Every year, the number of people arriving permanently in Australia is around double the number of people leaving.

 

Voice of reason...:biggrin: thank you...

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

Hi everyone

 

i am surprised theres anyone left in Australia, according to the figures by 2020, the country should be empty. They need to offer free housing and benefits for migrants so that instead of coming here they will go there. It would help because we are full to busting and almost bankrupt. These poor people need somwhere to live and its only right that other countries that are prosperous, should take there fair share.

[Guest siamsusie]

True Jim, and Island holiday homes beckon for Aussies | News.com.au

 

Susie x

[Bobj]

And of those 300,000 --- how many were non-English-speaking migrants from the 3rd world ?

 

And of that majority of 3rd worlders --- how many had been knocked back by the US -- the UK -- Scandinavia -- Germany -- Canada ................. all of which were their preferred destinations, with Australia being their final chance to get to the West and those alleged streets paved with Golden Welfare ?

 

LOL. .... those from the Sub Continent for example, try to get into the US -- get knocked back. So try to get into Canada as a * WAY * (they think) of jumping the border into the US. Some manage to get into Canada under student-visas. They * STILL * haven't managed to get across to the US. Then their visa runs out and they have to leave Canada. Oh the horror of having to return home. So from Canada -- they apply to get into Australia (with plans to return to Canada and their determination to cross to the US later on)

 

and of course, the non-fussy Aussie government says, ' Sure, come to Oz. Pretend to be studying nursing or accounting and after a bit we'll give you permanent residency status, ok ? '

 

So the 3rd worlders accept the Aussie offer with pretty poor grace. And they ' put up with ' Australia for as long as it takes to get PR status

 

and * THEN * they make another try at Canada

 

with their goal always to get themselves to the United States (because they've seen the movies, you dig. And they believe .. and you'll never convince them otherwise ... that the US is ' where it's at '. And they believe ... because they want to ... that their mediocre IT skills will put them in Silicone Valley and then on and upwards to glory

 

So sure -- if a nation's government is desperate to increase population and thus consumerism and more money for that government to chuck around ... sure, that government will not be fussy. And Australia is not fussy at all

 

 

But * OF * those 300,000 ----- why not peruse the post at the top of this thread for the numbers departing Australia each year, on permanent and semi-permanent basis ? 171,000 plus, according to government figures

 

 

.

 

Just to even up the argument:

 

Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | UK News :: Foreigners get 77% of new jobs in Britain as too many of us live on benefits

 

Cheers, Bobj.

[Guest chris955]

Yes that is obviously true and just as true is that the many threads we see that are 'anti' UK are posted by those people who are happy here or are on their way here, maybe they are justifying their decision too ?

 

What is interesting to note is that generally the type of person posting and commenting on this kind of thread is the person returning to UK. Almost like they are the ones justifying their decisions to leave.

[Guest burgledad]

Having lived and worked in the USA (just got back to UK), I can say that Europe, Australia and New Zealand are much better places to live especially if you have kids. The USA is brutal and unforgiving with no social protection; it is first world alongside third world and the system keeps power in the hands of a few. The health system is seen as a business and will clean you out sooner or later. Also, if you take time off work due to illness, it is taken from future leave entitlement. Most people are one illness away from ruin, few have savings or pensions, racism is entrenched and severe, relationships are fickle and false, business is vicious, the economy is screwed, there is no work-life balance as they are workaholics, personal debt is unbelievable so lives are owned by the banks, Americans are not remotely interested in you - I could go on. The point I am making is that we should appreciate what we have got and not fall for the US self marketting perceptions.