Labor is promising a relaxation in the sponsored parent visa by lower fees and an uncapping in the number of visas.
Labor MP and running candidate for Blaxland (Western Sydney) Jason Clare dismissed policy critics who view the promise as an attempt to win over migrant voters versus responsible immigration and population planning.
“Liberals promised to do this three years ago but until recently have not taken any action to make it happen and the visas they put in place are really expensive, it can cost up to $40000 a visa," he told SBS Urdu.
"It is limited to only a small number of people and it requires people to choose to which grandparents to bring to Australia whether to husband parent or wife parent.”
Responding to a question about facilities such as aged care and accessibility at public places in larger cities and especially in western Sydney to deal with aged parent influx due to change in policy, Mr Jason accepts the need of improvement of facilities.
"There is a challenge in Australia to keep up with the growth of population that has an impact on our hospitals, on our schools, on our age care centres and our roads and on our trains."
Mr Jason also acknowledged the increasing need for aged care facilities for ethnic and community groups those could have special need of many senior services such as nursing homes, food and worship places.
Labor has also announced commissioning a feasibility study into the relocation of the nation's multicultural broadcaster from SBS’s Sydney North shore headquarters to western Sydney.
"The feasibility study will look at the value of selling off the Artarmon site where SBS is currently sited on Sydney's north shore and how we can use that money to set up an alternate site in the heart of multicultural Australia in western Sydney."
It's promising half a million dollars on the feasibility study on the relocation. But critics have argued that the same money could be spent elsewhere such as on public transport or infrastructure.
"The feasibility study will look at the value of selling off the Artarmon site where SBS is currently sited on Sydney's north shore and how we can use that money to set up an alternate site in the heart of multicultural Australia in western Sydney."
He explained the need for the relocation proposal to keep Australia as a true reflection of increasing multicultural Australian communities.
It makes sense to have the multicultural voice of Australia, which is SBS, in the most multicultural part of Australia which is Western Sydney”, he added.
Jason Clare also talked about ALP's climate policy and assured that Labor's ambitious climate policy that is mostly based on renewable energy will look after its impact on coal/gas reliance Australian communities during the transition.
Labor party MP Jason Clare and Liberal party Oz Guney are federal Election candidates of Blaxland (Western Sydney).
Source: AAP Imag Mick Tsikas-nsw.liberal.org.au
SBS Urdu also contacted Liberal candidate of Blaxland Oz Guney but his office said he was unavailable.
The Full English interview can be downloaded here:
