ALAN TUDGE: Well, thanks so much, Alice and g'day everybody. Once again, it's nice to see so many of you here at this press conference. I understand that many of you attended the Prime Minister's press conference from a day or two ago and I don't want to repeat the things that he went through but I do want to make myself available for any questions or issues or concerns which you may have and to hopefully address them adequately for you.

I did want to start, though, by at least mentioning two or three proponents, which you may be particularly interested in. The first, of course, is that I'll just mention that the budget overall is built around trying to get the economy moving again, build confidence and create jobs, and everything is geared towards that end. And we've forecast our figures in these budgets in terms of where we think GDP will be, where we think unemployment will be. But there's particularly attractive measures in there in relation to business investment, and I just want to highlight those to you, knowing that multicultural communities create small businesses at a higher rate than anybody else. And there are some great business initiatives there, two in particular that I'll mention. One of them being that any business now under $5 billion is able to make an investment and write that entire investment off in this financial year. So that's a massive cash flow boost for businesses, and hopefully it'll be a great incentive for businesses to go out there and invest.

Second one though is that, I'll mention three. The second one being there is a cash loss carry back scheme in place. And what that means, if you're a business and you've made a loss this year, you can offset that loss against last year's profits. So, again, you actually get an additional cash flow boost there. You might even get some of your cash, some of your tax back from last year, which is another great mechanism to support those small businesses. And the third, I'll just briefly mention, is the incentive for businesses generally to employ particularly younger people, those aged under 30. And if it's a person under 30 who's been on the JobSeeker payments, then that business will be eligible for $200 per week to go towards the cost of employing a young person. If they're between 30 and 35, they'll get $100 a week to go towards the cost of employing that young person. So, I'll mention those three things in particular to go to what might be of interest to business and try and encourage them to invest and to employ to get the economy going.

I then wanted to touch on with you in introductory comments, just in relation to the migration program, and then I want to finally just mention social cohesion initiatives and then over to the questions and comments.

At Budget time, we always outline our permanent migration program and, our permanent migration program this financial year is again capped at 160,000 people, which is the same cap as last financial year. A couple of important differences which I wanted to highlight this year with the permanent migration program - there's stuff that we've massively boosted, the family proportion of the permanent migration program. So almost doubled the number, which are available there, and specifically for partner visas, for partner permanent residency visas. Because we know we've had a lot of applications for that and most of those people are in Australia already, 75, 80 per cent, and we've got the opportunity to regularise the arrangements, make them permanent residents and [indistinct] future hopefully make great Australians. So that important section today in the budget is almost doubling the number of partner permanent residency visas available in this financial year. And that will hopefully give a lot of confidence and a lot of surety to people who have fallen in love in [indistinct] and can make them permanent residents and subsequently citizens down the track.

Second point I've been wanting to highlight was that because our overall migration intake will be considerably smaller over this year and the next couple of years, we've really prioritised those groups coming into the country who will be the job-making categories, job-making individuals.

There's two categories in particular that I highlight that we have put additional resources into. Sorry, I should say we put additional places for. One being the global talent scheme visa, where we've tripled that number. And this is really for the really high skilled employed global super talent, which is out here. And they have permanent residency visas and they enable the person to come here and work, obviously to be a permanent resident straight away. And this is, we've tripled because they're the type of people that will come in and create businesses, be entrepreneurs, be those tech superstars, be those senior executives, which will really generate jobs here in Australia. So that's our focus. And the second category has been the business investors. And I know this is something that I've had questions from many people around this table previously. But we've doubled the number of places available through the Business Investment Program, and so now there'll be 13,500 spots available for this financial year. And for those who don't know, the Business Investment Program is for people who have considerable sums of money that they want to invest in a business typically in Australia. And we're increasing those numbers, because, of course, when they bring in their business and bring in their investments, again, they generate jobs and generate wealth here in Australia, which is again our core objective from the Budget measures. So, they're the two, if you like, within the skilled program where we've really boosted up the numbers there. We still also emphasised the general employer sponsored skilled migration stream which, of course, will still be present. There'll still be employers who need to find those skilled people, and we have that number at 22,000, which is similar to what it has been as well. Many of those people will have already been in the country of course. They might be on it on a four-year visa and then they transfer [inaudible] sponsored permanent residency visa.

Finally, I've mentioned the refugee program, which in our permanent residency program, as you may know, you have skills stream, which I've touched on, the family stream, 90 per cent of which are partner, and then you have your refugee and humanitarian stream. And the refugee and humanitarian stream, we've dedicated 13,750 positions, which is just slightly above where the actual outcome was last year, but it's below what the target has been for the last couple of years. And that's in part recognition that all migration was down, and it is, in some respects, proportionate to that. So, just briefly mention that. Having said that, with the refugee program, we'll still be the third highest generous country, in absolute numbers, in the world with our humanitarian program.

I now just want to touch on the social cohesion pieces and just mention two in particular and then really hand it over to you for questions, observations. You would have heard me talk about social cohesion in the past. I gave a speech at the National Press Club a month or so ago and outlined several of the issues there. But in the Budget, there's additional measures to help support our social cohesion, which is already so strong, the envy of the world in some respects given the diversity of our population. But there's always challenges on our social cohesion. This Budget just adds additional funding to support that social cohesion - I mentioned three, one being in relation to foreign interference and just additional measures in place to challenge for foreign interference and ensure that our communities stay united.

Second, in relation to English language. And prior to the election, but really an election initiative, was the removing any limits on any migrants being able to have English language classes. So that means that regardless of when you came into the country or how long it takes you to learn the English language, there will be free English language classes for as long as you need it. And we encourage, through you, for people whose English may be poor to really take that opportunity. To take that opportunity, take advantage of those free English language classes and get your English into a better place. And that's a very important initiative. On top of that, and this has received some mainstream media attention just last day or two, we placed a requirements on the permanent resident partner visa, to visa applicants, to have demonstrated they made reasonable efforts to have learned English before they have their permanent residency visa granted. And what normally occurs is that a person comes into the country on a pretty short visa but will still be able to come into this country on a provisional visa or any other visa. And it'll be two or three years before they're eligible to apply for their permanent residency visa. And in that time, we expect them to have taken advantage of the free English language classes and made all reasonable efforts to learn English. They may not get to a functional level, they may only just get to a very, very basic level, that's not the issue. The issue is we want people to have a real go trying to learn English before they put their application in and demonstrated they've had a proper go, then that visa will be granted, as long as the other checks are assured as well. I just wanted to mention that one.

And finally, just in terms of supporting social cohesion on top of some of the other things which we've already announced, there was additional funding for new client liaison offices, which are people who work with the regional directors in your respective jurisdictions, and to reach out and engage with the community leaders and the multicultural communities. And we've got additional funding there to employ people with particular language skills, and particularly Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Arabic. And so that money's there, we're in the recruitment process at the moment. And so, if you know good people who want to apply for those positions, then please point them towards those because that just helps us maintain engagement.

So, I'll just, I think, leave it there with my introductory comments. First up, just summarising, talking about the Budget as a whole, year-round economic recovery and jobs growth. The second being around our migration program and supporting a stronger family, a family component, particularly for those who are already in the country, and a real focus on those really high skilled migrants who create jobs here in Australia. And then thirdly, some additional social cohesion measures to guarantee our national unity going forward. Despite the fact that it is strong and the envy of the world, we always need to work on it. And this just goes that little bit extra further ahead to support that.

I'll leave it there and hand over back to Alice, who I think is going to moderate this session. Then I'll take questions from people.

HOST: Thank you very much, Minister. The first question comes from [Indistinct] from SBS Punjabi. Please go ahead.

QUESTION: Minister, this is Avneet from SBS Punjabi. Let's talk about the migration programming levels. Now, they indicate there's been a sharp decline in the number of places for two categories: independent, which has suffered a 65 per cent drop when compared to the 2019 planning levels and [indistinct] category which had a 55 per cent drop when you compare it to the previous year's planning level. Now what's the government's rational behind the doubling of the intake [indistinct] program, a global program [indistinct] migration, which is a [indistinct] for international students and all the migrants who want to stay in the country [indistinct]. Also, the second question is regarding the English language program for visas. How do you define functional English?

ALAN TUDGE: So, let me address the second question first. So, the requirements which will be placed on to new partner applicants from the end of next year doesn't apply to any of the applicant screening process [indistinct]. It will be that a person has to have either demonstrated that they have functional level English or that they have to demonstrate they've made reasonable efforts while in Australia to learn English. And I was describing what that reasonable effort might be, defined as [indistinct] effectively doing their best to sit those free English language classes. If already your English is adequate and clearly don't need English language classes, then you just need to demonstrate in a manner which will be defined over the next few months as to how you can prove you've got functional English, and that might be because you've gone to an English speaking school or university. It might be that you pass the English language test set at a functional level, or it could be another mechanism, but we'll define those [indistinct].

But that will be quite straightforward obviously for many people, and then obviously when they don't have any English, then we support you to have those free English language classes. I just want you to have a go, because, and I emphasise this point: we want you to have a go because it's in your interests as an individual, because if you don't have some basic English, your chances of getting work are very, very small. Your chances of really participating fully in our Australian society are diminished. And of course, it's more difficult to participate in a democracy once you become a citizen. So, it's in their interest, but it's also in the public's interest, because we need a common language to be able to communicate with each other. And that's, of course, it's so difficult to integrate if you can't communicate. So that's why this is so important. And it doesn't mean we're not emphasising our languages, it's sensational that people speak multiple languages. That's a real asset for Australia. But we also have to have this common language that we can share and communicate, which underpins our social cohesion.

In relation to those couple of measures that you pointed out, [indistinct], we have dropped our skilled independence numbers, and emphasised the employer nominated scheme more. And that's because the employment outcomes from the employer nominated scheme are much higher, almost by definition, but you have to have an employer to be sponsored [indistinct versus the employment outcomes of the general skilled migration scheme are particularly great, particularly in those first 18 to 24 months.

Having said that, the Global Talent is effectively a skilled, independent scheme, but you have to demonstrate you've got very significant skills to do that. Some will be in Australia to apply for that scheme, and they'll be just fantastic technology people, they'll be great entrepreneurs [indistinct]. And so, they can take advantage of that. And then in relation to the state and territory nominated scheme, that is typically a function of the demands. And so, they put in their bids for it, and we always encourage the states and territories to look closely at that, because it's a great way of getting a broader distribution of migration across Australia when you have state nominated ones, because South Australia have nominated a few thousand, [indistinct] go to South Australia but they tend to stick there. Versus, if there isn't such a scheme in place, most people tend to gravitate to Melbourne and Sydney, because they're the most well-known cities.

HOST: Thank you, Minister. The next question comes from Roberta [indistinct] Please go ahead, Roberta.

QUESTION: Yes, thank you, Minister, for joining us today. Could I just ask you what was the…

HOST: Apologies, Roberta. Could we please ask you to repeat the question? Unfortunately, we can't hear you, Roberta.

ALAN TUDGE: Your sentence started, we heard you say your name, and then all of a sudden, your sound dropped out.

HOST: We'll try to come back to you, Roberta. Raymond Chow. And Mr Chow, could you please unmute yourself at your end and ask your question?

QUESTION: Alright. [Indistinct] Will the Minister consider adopting a model of migrants learning English in the context of political understanding and commitment to Australian values and the acceptance of multiculturalism? And will you consider opening up more community organisations to provide English courses for migrants other than just [indistinct]?

ALAN TUDGE: Yeah. It's a very good question, Raymond. And the answer is yes. I have equally been dissatisfied with the quality of some of the English language providers and I've initiated a review of the English language providers. And when the contracts come up again, we'll be placing much greater emphasis on outcomes, if you like, rather than just activities. So that will then open it up to other community organisations to be able to offer those classes if they can demonstrate that they can achieve those outcomes. And I'm particularly keen, actually, Raymond, to ensure that there's greater use of technology as well in the English language classes. Because technology these days for language provision is brilliant and it can be very customised to where you are and your native language background compared to a general class. So, they're the types of things which we're working on right now. I'll just touch on Raymond's other question, the value piece as well. I think that's really important too. I mean, I'd love to have some of that incorporated into the English language classes, too, and we'll explore that. But we certainly are placing greater emphasis generally on the sort of core Australian values which have underpinned our success to date. And we're doing that through updating citizenship tests, which will have dedicated section on Australian values. Updating Australian values statements, which all migrants when they come into Australia, sign. And additionally, we want to place a greater emphasis through an ongoing campaign, if you like, in relation to these. And these values that I'm talking about are well known values to the people around this table. They're freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association, equality between men and women, parliamentary democracy, all of the key things which have underpinned our success, in part made us so attractive for migrants around the world to come to see. But we just want to continually emphasise those things to new people coming into the country.

QUESTION: So, Minister, [indistinct] good in English and to be good Australian are both important targets for this progress?

ALAN TUDGE: Sorry, Raymond. I didn't quite catch that.

QUESTION: So, do you agree that both good in English for work and good in English to be a good Australian are the two targets for this program combined together?

ALAN TUDGE: I hear you. I think that's, we want people to share our common values. And indeed, most people come to Australia because they do want to share our values. But we've got to emphasise that. And I think, you know, as we're discussing, and I share your view, Raymond, that you need to have at least a basic understanding of English, because it's very difficult to get work. I can tell you, only 13 per cent of people with no English are in a job; only 13 per cent. And it's different, it often gets put to me. They say to me: you know, my parents - it's often some of the Greeks and the Italians, because they'll say: well, my parents came out in the '50s, no English. They got work straight away. They're model citizens now. That's no doubt the case. Back in the '50s and '60s, you could go straight into work without any English. Today, you can't do that because of the occupational health and safety rules and the like. The labour force has changed remarkably. And so even with those entry level labour impositions, you still need a basic grasp of English to understand your occupational health and safety standards. So Raymond, thank you.

HOST: Thank you, Minister. The next question comes from Cecil Huang. Please go ahead, Cecil.

QUESTION: Thank you. Minister Tudge, just on the new language requirements. [Indistinct] discourage people to come to Australia at a time when we really need new migrants to boost our economy. What's your response to this?

ALAN TUDGE: I disagree with this. I think that Australia will always be an attractive destination for millions of people around the world. And I actually think that Australia will be a more attractive destination as a result of how well we have managed the pandemic, both from a social perspective and an economic perspective relative to countries that we typically compete with for migrants. You know, the United States, England, Canada, New Zealand, et cetera. So, I don't agree with your statement. Moreover, people will be able to come into the country without any English language requirements at all, because as I explained before, you have to come in as a provisional permanent resident to start with, if not come in under a different visa. Which means you're here already for two to three years before you're able to get that permanent residency visa. So, you're already in the country. And it's in that two to three years that we're simply asking in a not unreasonable way, that if you want to stay as a permanent resident to become a citizen, you've got to make a reasonable effort to learn the English language.

QUESTION: Thank you.

HOST: Thanks, Minister. The next question comes from Stephanie Xie. Please go ahead, Stephanie.

QUESTION: Thank you. So, my question is at the Australian citizenship test, if those questions are Australian values, new Chinese migrants believe this is unnecessary and a political move due to the situation of the Australian and China relations. Should the Government be doing more promotions to let more people understand the reason Australian values are included in the citizenship test? And our second question is: as Australia and China relations go into a stand-off, the Chinese community is gradually becoming more and more silent and less active compared to before. Will the Government consider any initiatives to help the Chinese come out of the shadows and participate more in the public life?

ALAN TUDGE: Two interesting questions. Let me deal with the second one first. I mean, the Australian-Chinese community is well over a million people and is intricately involved in every single aspect of Australian life. And we even have now a member of the Federal Parliament who was born in Hong Kong and is an Australian citizen Member of the Federal Parliament, the Member for Chisolm, right next door to my electorate. So, I don't agree with the proposition that the Australian-Chinese community are not engaged in Australian life; to the contrary. I can't imagine Australia today without the Australian-Chinese community, because it's such an integral part of it. And I would say, though, in relation to the general relationship with China that, and I may have made this point before, that we maintain the strongest ever trade relationship with China that we've ever had. We maintain the strongest ever people to people linkages with China that we've ever had, and in part because of the huge Australian-Chinese communities. And sometimes, we have disagreements on a strategic level with China. But those disagreements, we'll manage them. We'll work through them sensibly. We'll be consistent in our position in light of Australian values.

But what I would say is that any difference that we have with the Chinese Communist Party Government is completely separate to the Australian-Chinese community. And the Australian-Chinese community, as I say, have been a part of Australia in significant numbers going back to the 1850s. And they've been in very significant numbers obviously in the last 20 or so years. So, I just wanted to make that point.

Second, in relation to the values question. The values questions are in part because it's a shift away from having technical questions, if you like, or general knowledge questions in the citizenship test to placing more emphasis on Australian values. And in part because we have an increasing number of people who come from countries which don't always have a similar set of values to Australia's values. And as an emphasis of what our values are and the importance of them. And in fact, those values actually underpin our success, the freedom of speech and association of the parliamentary democracy, equality of men and women, those equal opportunities regardless of race, gender and diversity. Not every [indistinct] those things.

So, we're specifically emphasising it. They're not controversial to most people that I've explained to them what the values are. People sort of look at me as if what's the big deal. They just take these things for granted. But we're just trying to emphasise those so we maintain those values. We continue to talk about them and we emphasise those to people coming in that this is what Australia's been built on.

HOST: Thanks Minister. The next question comes from Xiao Bang, ABC. Please go ahead.

We can't hear you unfortunately. We might need to come back to you, sir, because we can see you but we just can't hear you.

Minister, the next question comes from Fred Zhang from Melbourne Today.

QUESTION: Hi, can you hear me?

HOST: Yes, thank you, Fred.

QUESTION: Good to see you again, Alan. So, my first question is: United States have recently banned Chinese Communist Party members from acquiring permanent residency or citizenship. As we are the closest ally of the US, do we have similar plans on CCP members living in Australia, or visiting members applying for permanent residency or citizenship?

ALAN TUDGE: That's not part of our plans and it certainly hasn't come across my desk.

QUESTION: Okay. The second question is: if a new immigrant became an Australian citizen but later did something against our Australian values, would his Australian citizenship be stripped? Like, terrorism or something.

ALAN TUDGE: If, sorry, if you're a citizen? What's the question? If you're a citizen, could your citizenship get stripped?

QUESTION: Yes.

ALAN TUDGE: Certainly- I'll answer the question indirectly. Certainly, if you are a permanent resident, or if you're any visa holder, including a permanent resident, which is a visa at the end of the day, then obviously those visas can be revoked. Very rare for a [indistinct] revoked. We frequently revoke temporary resident visa holders, and for basically criminal activity, and that would certainly include terrorism. In relation to citizenship, the citizenship issue is more complex. Where there are, where you have dual citizenship, we will sometimes seek to revoke that citizenship if a person is engaged in serious terrorism instances. It's more difficult if they're only a citizen of Australia and have no citizenship elsewhere, because then you come across the international non-refoulement obligations. So, from memory, we had legislation in the Parliament just recently in relation to that question. Peter Dutton [indistinct]… apologies for not having the details at hand. But we'll get those details to you Fred.

QUESTION: Thank you, Minister.

HOST: Thank you Minister. The next question comes from [indistinct]. Please go ahead.

QUESTION: [Inaudible].

ALAN TUDGE: I suppose I'd say, [indistinct], I look at the data. And the data is absolutely compelling that, the Australian Bureau of Statistics Data, that only 13 per cent of those people without English are in jobs. Only 13 per cent. And if you've got good English, that figure rises to 64 per cent. So, it's an extraordinary difference. I know of actually no other factor which has such a strong correlation to employment outcomes as the ability to speak English in Australia. And as I said, that has changed over time because of the, largely because of occupational health and safety rules, which means that - and there's fewer of those real entry level labouring jobs available as well [indistinct]. Still some people are obviously working without English language skills, but it's so much harder.

But it's not just employment. The success of Australia has been built on inviting people to our shores and migrants becoming central to Australian life. But you can really only be central to Australian life if you can fully participate in it. You can only fully participate in it if you at least have a basic grasp of English.

QUESTION: [Indistinct] want to ask. Is it applicable only to partners or parents as well?

ALAN TUDGE: It applies to the, no, only to the partners, only to partners of working age. So, most of the parents who come in are elderly and we're not placing any expectations upon those people. Now, of course, we would, if they plan on staying here for a long period of time, of course, we would encourage them to take up some of these free English language classes. But there's no expectation, no obligation as such. You've got to remember that for the spousal visa, the partner visa, that typically is in your mid-20s when that visa is given. So, you've got a long period of time that you've got to be in Australia, and a long period of your working life that you'll be in Australia. Hence that little nudge for people to make that reasonable effort to do those English language classes.

I would say too, though, that this is a very important measure for women. Because there are some instances whereby the husband may not want his partner to be learning English, and for, sometimes for control reasons, and that is not consistent with Australian values. You know, in Australia, every man and woman has the opportunity to fully participate in our society, including getting a job.

QUESTION: Thank you Minister. There is one last question which is on the citizenship. Now, we know that voting is compulsory in this country for all the citizens, but it's not compulsory to register in [indistinct] place for all the citizens. [Inaudible]…

ALAN TUDGE: You've got me there, [indistinct]. I don't know the answer to that question, but I'm happy to get back to you on that, because, I don't think you get fined as such, do you, if you don't register to vote? But you certainly may get fined if you don't vote. I don't know the answer to that question. Let's pick that up and get back to you.

HOST: Thank you minister. The next question comes from Mosiqi Achara from SBS Hindi. Please go ahead, Mosiqi.

QUESTION: Hi. My question today is that the Budget papers say there will be a focus on onshore applicants. Could you point out the exact visas where these onshore applicants will be prioritised?

ALAN TUDGE: So, the greater focus, particularly in that family stream actually, which is mainly partner visas. So, out of the entire family stream, about 90 per cent is typically partner visas and the rest tends to be parents. We're suggesting, we're predicting that probably 75 to 80 per cent of those will be onshore because that's where most of them are, already here in Australia. I'm getting a bit of feedback on this, I don't know if you are, Alice, as well.

HOST: [Inaudible]…

ALAN TUDGE: So, that's the main one. We're going to have, it's in partner, you see- because we'll have fewer people coming into the country, we're placing greater priority on making permanent residents, those who are already here. Now, because we have the spaces available, if you like. And the reason why we have fewer people coming into the country, of course, is because of the pandemic, and the speed limit being the quarantine levels that we have in place. But consequently, actually, from a net, when you actually look at what's called the net overseas migration figure, we will actually have this year, this financial year, for the first time in 75 years, more people leaving the country than coming into the country, in terms of that net overseas migration figure. So, we're trying to regularise more people in Australia, if you like, hence that [indistinct].

COMPERE: Thank you, Minister. The next question comes from Rajesh Sharma from Indus Age. Please go ahead, Rajesh.

QUESTION: Thank you, Alice. Minister, this is regarding the business and working visa. My question is, is the government going to expect business [indistinct] Australia?

ALAN TUDGE: You were breaking up a bit to me there, Rajesh. I couldn't quite catch, I don't know, Alice, if you could hear that. I think it was your line which was slightly breaking up.

HOST: Yes, I think your question was in relation to business visas. Rajesh, could I just ask you to repeat your question please, and we'll see if we can hear better?

QUESTION: How is the government going to [indistinct] business visa applications, other than interim critical skill [indistinct]?

ALAN TUDGE: So, the business investment, the Business Innovation and Investment Program is a separate program to the employer-sponsored or the general skilled migration program, which is both based on the skills list. Business Investment and Innovation Program is not based on a skills list. There's particular sub-elements to it and effectively, you need to demonstrate that you have a certain amount of money to invest, or you may have some business experience to demonstrate that in order to be eligible for that.

Now, we'll be making some changes to that business investment, innovation investment program as well, and I'll be announcing those later this year, which won't take effect, though, until sometime next year. So, there's plenty of advanced notice.

QUESTION: Thank you, Minister.

ALAN TUDGE: I'll just get back, I've just had texted to me, in relation to one of the previous questions, that it actually is compulsory, by law, to enrol to vote, that is, as much as it is to vote. And that's outlined in the Electoral Act.

HOST: Thank you, Minister. Minister, we had a question earlier from Roberta. Roberta, are we able to hear you now? Are you back online? No, we can't hear Roberta, but Roberta has sent her question through: what was the thought behind introducing the English language requirements for partner visas, and how is it relevant to family violence?

ALAN TUDGE: So, the reason for it is because we already have an English language requirements on all of the skilled visas. Every single primary applicant through the skilled stream has to pass an English language test to get into the country. And the largest category that doesn't have an English language requirement is the family stream, and 90 per cent of the family stream is on the partners. And there are considerable, we know that there are considerable numbers that come in and become permanent residents without any English language capability.

 It was brought,  in part, this was brought to my attention by looking at data again as well. And that we've had a massive increase over the last decade or so, of people who can't speak any English in the country. And today, we estimate there's probably about a million people in Australia who have no English or English that is very, very poor, which is more than double what it was just 10-or so years ago. So, now that does start to put a little bit of pressure on our social cohesion as well. But equally, from an employment perspective - and I mention this again - the partners come in in their mid-twenties. And we want them to be fully involved in Australian life if they're going to be here as permanent residents and citizens. And it's so difficult to do that if you don't have at least a basic command of English. And hence that requirement. And I don't think it's an unreasonable one to say, just have a go at learning English. We're not going to hold you to account for how fast you learn, but we do want you to have a reasonable effort to learn that English language so that you can fully participate in Australian life.

HOST: Thank you, Minister.

ALAN TUDGE: Oh, sorry. She asked me about violence against women as well. So, in some respects, because if you have command of the English language, you're much more likely to have an ability to be able to reach out and get additional assistance and engage more broadly with some of the community groups. And it's one of the reasons why the head of the Australian Muslim Women's Association, for example, is so strong on this. But equally, other women. We'll have more to say, too, about domestic violence in this regard over the next week or so. [Indistinct] put in place here, and I'll inform you about that too.

HOST: Thank you, Minister. The next question comes from Umesh Chandra from Brisbane Indian Times and Australian Indian Radio. Please go ahead.

QUESTION: Can you hear me?

ALAN TUDGE: Yes.

QUESTION: Thank you. Okay, Minister, I would like to make a comment rather than a question. And I must commend you on this move. And previously, people of Australian and rest of [indistinct] go out and get this message out to the community about the language and the language skills. I think it is timely, and I think it's a good move moving forward. And of course, as the President of Queensland Multicultural Council as well, you know, we had a meeting and this topic was discussed. So, there's always both sides of the equation but I can see where you are coming from, Minister, and I think it's very timely that we can learn from the other countries where the language becomes a big problem otherwise, unless there is a uniformity. And the emphasis placed on, at least the willingness to learn English, which is of course being provided as a free course, I commend you on that.

And of course, on domestic violence. I'm part of White Ribbon Queensland Committee as the vice-chair. And English language will, of course, make a difference when it comes to reporting and when it comes to reaching out. Because by the time people reach out to an interpreter, and by the time they get to the police, it becomes a little bit late as well. So, I think it's a good move. It's not a question, was just my comment and observation. Thank you.

ALAN TUDGE: Yeah, thank you so much for that, Umesh. I very much appreciate those comments.

HOST: Minister, the next question comes from Brian from Australian China Daily. Please go ahead, Brian.

QUESTION: Thank you, thank you. Thank you Minister Tudge. I have a question concerning about the international students. You see, there's still, the border at the moment is still closed and in the future it seems that [indistinct] do have a big impact not only in Australia, but also around the [indistinct]. And I am wondering, [indistinct]… about some [indistinct] long term strategic plan to introduce more policies [indistinct] more international students to come, from China and from other countries to Australia, to stimulate [indistinct]. University at the moment is getting very [indistinct] and is also struggling, and higher education sector is struggling. And these students can come here, and so I'm wondering if the Government has some very good plans, some strategies to introduce more students to come here and give them more visa, promote visa policies or some other good policies to introduce them to come? Thank you.

ALAN TUDGE: So this Budget itself does not have anything to say about international students and in part because the Budget lays out the framework for the permanent residency program only, it doesn't deal with the temporary residency program which is dealt with separately through policy. And yes…

QUESTION: The budget is [indistinct]… to job creating and [indistinct] economy the [indistinct].

ALAN TUDGE: Yeah, that's right. But also, from a migration program perspective, the budget only lays out the parameters and the numbers for the permanent residency program, whereas international students are under a temporary residency visa. And they're dealt with, we deal with those on an ongoing basis. We do want to get the international student market back up and running, though and we're working hard in terms of trying to at least get some pilots up in South Australia and the ACT. I think, Brian, that but for the challenges in Victoria with quarantine, we probably would have had some running by now. But that, you know, that obviously put a spanner in the works. Nobody's coming into Victoria at the moment under the quarantine arrangements and we've got limited spots available in other states and territories. And we're trying to put a bit of pressure on the states with those quarantine numbers, [indistinct]… That becomes a delay in the speed limit on them coming in. And we've still got Australians who are seeking to come into the country as well. So it's just that Brian, I understand that need. International students have been fantastic for the Australian economy, for Australian society and many students have gone on to become fantastic citizens. So we do want to get this up and running again. I can't tell you, though, exactly when.

QUESTION: You may take more time to decide, I think. Just seeing as [indistinct], through this great uncertainty.

ALAN TUDGE: Yeah. It is and obviously, if a vaccine is found and it's globally available, then we'll be able to very quickly get back to normal. But until that time, we'll have to, there's quarantine arrangements in place and then that does become the speed limits, if you like, on how many people can come into the country. It also impacts on people leaving the country, of course, temporarily. You know, Australians leave the country because they want to visit a loved one overseas, while you can apply for an exemption for compassionate grounds, and those that [indistinct] in their tens of thousands. There's no regular, at the moment, there still isn't an open border in that regard because by definition, if you go out for a particular reason and you want to come back, and you have to spend [indistinct]… quarantine arrangements again. Yeah, the challenge is, this pandemic, it's a [indistinct] challenge. We've got great control of it here in Australia, apart from in Victoria, which is getting under control now. But [indistinct] the country is [indistinct].

HOST: Thank you, Minister. I think that brings the questions to a close. Would you like to make any closing remarks?

ALAN TUDGE: I don't think so, Alice. Just thanks again for everybody participating in this and I'll continue to hold these regularly, and particularly after we've got any more significant announcements which might be of direct relevance to the multicultural communities, above and beyond the normal announcements which we're making. But thanks for your attendance, thanks for your questions and we'll look forward to seeing you soon.

HOST: Thank you Minister.

[Ends]

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