Dear Guest,

A Monash University report indicated one of the main reasons why skilled migrants may not be finding employment is due to English language ability.

In response to the report, we conducted our own research in a survey which included 65 skilled migrants (now permanent Australian residents) from 31 countries who responded to questions about finding employment.

The survey revealed that 71% of respondents indicated poor or good (not excellent/native) English, and just under 50% of the group had graduate or post-graduate degrees. Interestingly, 70% had found employment in line with their skills and experience and 25% had found employment in other fields.

This result supports the fact that, although they are not native English speakers, they were able to secure employment and bring a solid track record of skills and experience that Australia desperately needs.

Please feel free to review the survey results and don't forget to take advantage of Australia's record low unemployment rate by starting your visa process today.

Simply click on the links below to automatically scroll down the page of the latest LIVE IN australia.com^® news. Click on 'TOP' to return to the top of the page:

1. Scots and English invited to a place in the sun
2. What are Australians thinking about?
3. An Australian 'brand' of Muslim
4. How far can a migrant go? Don Lane: TV host with the most!
5. Tourism flourishing, but Skills in short supply
6. Aussie Surprise of the Month: Helena Rubenstein's cosmetic empire began in Melbourne.
7. Settlement fund for immigrants
8. Growth, growth and more growth
9. Monk studies Australia's peaceful ways
10. A town like Gold Coast City
11. One nation, many cultures: Lygon Street Festa
12. More Arabs choosing Australia
13. So how do you like Australia? Peter Evans - Building site manager
14. Australia-India trade agreements
15. Aussie Recipe: Spanikopita
16. In Brief

Scots and English invited to a place in the sun
According to Queensland Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry, Desley Boyle, skilled UK migrants can improve both their employment and lifestyle opportunities in Australia. The Queensland Government, in cahoots with South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria Ministries and the Federal Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), are on the road in the UK to spread the word about Australia.

The Australian migration information roadshows have recently visited Glasgow and Manchester. Many Australians from both cities have no doubt reinforced the message to friends and relations over the years.

Minister Boyle said the states were working together to provide intending migrants with individual overviews of each of the State's special features, benefits and migration opportunities.

"The fact is Queensland has the strongest economic growth of all Australian states", Ms Boyle said. "On top of that, I'd say that we have a great climate, most dynamic and innovative industries and the largest infrastructure investment of any state.

"My message to these future Australians is simple, come and see Australia with your own eyes - you simply won't be able to resist our fantastic employment and lifestyle opportunities.

"The secret is well and truly out of the bag – Australia, and in particular Queensland, is the place to be."

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What are Australians thinking about?
For the last seventeen years, the Grey Group have published a research report (conducted by Sweeney Research) called Eye on Australia. The report provides insight into the way Australians are thinking and what the important issues are.

Here is an overview of the 2008 report:

• There was an increase in people who are either extremely or very satisfied with their lives...we are a happy bunch!
• Families with children under 18 are very satisfied
• Although we are concerned about money, unemployment remains at an all time low and things will keep improving
• We are satisfied with our jobs and we are working longer hours
• We are focused on looks! 82% of respondents agree that when they look good, they feel good.
• The top three issues facing Australians in the next five years are: finance, green issues, water management.

For more detail, please visit the website.

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An Australian 'brand' of Muslim
Educated and vocal Australian Muslims are determined to repair some of the damage inflicted on its faith since the attacks of September 11 and the bombings in Bali in 2002.

"Among young people there is less inclination to take on that victim complex and more willingness to embrace a powerful and dynamic identity as an Australian Muslim," said Randa Abdel Fattah, a 29-year-old Sydney-born lawyer and an author of children's books.

"There are lots of creative ways that people have dealt with this negative image, which is happening through the arts. Comedians are using television to try to dispel stereotypes about the Muslim community."

There are about 350,000 Muslims in Australia – about two per cent of the country's population. They are culturally diverse and come from all over the globe – from Lebanon and Bosnia to Bangladesh and Turkey.

Today, one-third of the Muslim community is Australian-born. Kuranda Seyit, director of the Forum on Australia's Islamic Relations, believes this group is coming of age and its maturity is driving fundamental changes in the way Muslims and non-Muslims interact.

"We are shredding the migrant mentality and all the baggage that goes with it and we are getting a more home-grown and refreshing attitude towards these issues." Younger Australian Muslims take great pride in their distinctive brand of Islam, which is helping them to build bridges with other parts of society.

Your skills are what Australia seeks and LIA can help you match them with Aussie opportunities.

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How far can a migrant go?
Don Lane: TV host with the most!

Don Lane was born in New York of an Irish mother and Jewish father. He was performing as a singer when spotted by an Australian TV crew and hired to come to perform in Australia.

Virtually, after his arrival in 1965, he never left and became one of the most loved and successful starts in Australian television history. The launch of The Don Lane Show in 1975 brought Don and Bert Newton together and, over the next decade, the 'Lanky Yank' and 'Moonface' became Aussie show business legends. Don Lane was of one of the nice guys of entertainment - someone who's seen and done it all.

Don Lane: Entertainer; b. 1933, NY, USA, settled Aust. 1965; career: Host 'Late Night Australia', 'The Don Lane Show' 1975-83, 'In Melbourne Tonight', 'Tonight with Don Lane', Guest Host 'The Tonight Show'; Sportscaster Rugby League, NBA Basketball (USA), NFL Football (USA); inducted into TV Week Logie Hall of Fame 2003, winner Gold Logie 1977, 12 Logie Awards, four Gold albums.

Don Lane, Aussie icon and entertainer

LIA shares that will-to-win that always leads to higher performance. Contact LIA now and see what that means for you.

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Tourism flourishing, but Skills in short supply
The Roy Morgan poll of 270 people at the Tourism Futures conference identified a lack of suitable and skilled employees as one of the biggest challenges for the next decade.

Industry representatives are meeting on the Gold Coast for the three-day conference at the Crowne Plaza Royal Pines Golf Resort and Spa, which started on Monday.

Staffing issues ranked fourth as the main challenges to the industry, behind the impact of climate change, the price of fuel affecting airfares and the need for product development in regional areas.

A sign of its growing impact, staffing issues did not rank in the top five two years ago. In the latest survey, 47 per cent of respondents listed the lack of suitable and skilled candidates when hiring as their biggest employment challenge.

Conference convenor Tony Charters said "If you have an issue of people working in the workforce who haven't had sufficient training, that's where it starts to impact.

"We don't have statistics on what customer views are ... but it does have a flow-on effect with customer service."

Mr Charters said the hospitality sector was suffering the most from the skills shortage. Gold Coast Tourism spokesman Ben Pole said the local industry was well placed to benefit from a flow of skilled professionals coming from tourism programs at Griffith and Bond universities.

But he said the industry could do with an improvement to the structure of its career pathways.

"There are suggestions from some areas of the industry that a revision of the current visa and working holiday restrictions will fulfill the apparent need for unskilled and seasonal tourism workers," he said.

"If that approach can assist destinations where businesses are suffering due to a worker shortage, then the tourism industry has a responsibility to investigate it as an option."

Thousands of skilled workers and professionals build a future in Australia every year. An LIA Advisor can explain the hospitality opportunities that await you.

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Aussie Surprise of the Month:
Helena Rubenstein's cosmetic empire began in Melbourne.

Only Eve Arden rivalled Helena Rubenstein as founder of a cosmetic empire that changed make-up from something only actresses and 'working girls' used, into a daily 'must' for the women of the world.

Rubinstein, was the eldest child of Augusta Gitte Scheindel Silberfeld Rubinstein and Naftali Herz Horace Rubinstein. Her father was a shopkeeper in Kraków, Poland. For a short time, she studied medicine in Switzerland. Then, in 1902, to escape an unwanted marriage, she 'fled' to her uncle Louis Silberfeld, a shopkeeper and part-time oculist, at Coleraine in western Victoria.

Several months later, she opened a shop in Melbourne. She mixed so-called medical formulas and ointments she said were imported from the Carpathian Mountains, to make her own facial cream, Crème Valaze. The ingredients were actually concocted from an impure form of lanolin whose odor was disguised with scents of lavender, pine bark and water lilies.

Helena rapidly expanded her operation. In 1908, her sister Ceska took over the Melbourne shop's operation, while Helena moved to London with £100,000 and opened Helena Rubinstein's Salon de Beauté Valaze. She extended her international enterprise, first to Paris and then most famously launched her 'invasion' of the USA.

From a small shop in Melbourne, Helena Rubenstein went on to change the face of cosmetics around the world.

Helena Rubenstein's Crème Valaze

We needed skilled migrants then. We need you now. Contact LIA and put your skills to work in Australia.

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Settlement fund for immigrants
The Australian government plans to invest $34 million on services to ease the settlement of migrants to the country. Laurie Ferguson, Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement, says the funds will be shared throughout 230 nationwide projects whose focus is helping migrants get to grips with their new life in Australia.

"These projects will assist migrants and refugees in their cultural transition in Australia and build on their existing skills for their successful settlement," Ferguson said.

To stay in touch with the myriad opportunities offered by Australian industry, Contact LIA today.

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Growth, growth and more growth
The states of Victoria and Queensland experienced their biggest population gains on record in 2007, while Queensland had the largest absolute gain.

At the start of the century, NSW accounted for 32% of the national economy, but that figure has now slipped to 27.5%. Big gains have been made by Queensland (18% to 21%) and WA (12.5% to 16%). At current relative rates of growth, Queensland should surpass Victoria in 2012 and WA should pass Victoria in 2014.

Australia's biggest industry sector at present is property & business services at 11.7%. Second biggest is manufacturing at 10.0%, followed by finance & insurance (8.1%) and construction (6.8% - equal to mining).

Currently the mining industry accounts for only a mere 6.8% share of Australian total industry, and that figure is actually down from 7.9% in 1997.

The resources sector now accounts for about 25% of Australian stock market capitalisation, not even including the energy and mining services sectors. The reason why the mining sector contribution is so low is because of infrastructure constraints - the mining industry is simply struggling to get its goods to market, and this can only be addressed by rapidly growing the work force.

If Australia continues to add 300-400,000 to the population each year tremendous pressure is going to be placed on land, water and energy resources. More people mean more homes, roads and social infrastructure. Construction is becoming the most important sector, as governments at the federal and state level announce massive infrastructure spending.

All this adds up to opportunity for skilled people across virtually the whole spectrum of Australia business and industry. Contact LIA and reserve your opportunity today.

Australia works very hard to make immigrants feel at home. To find out more, Contact LIA today.

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Monk studies Australia's peaceful ways
Nearly 18 years ago, Bhante Pn Wa Ra left his home country, Myanmar, in fear of being arrested and tortured – and possibly killed – simply because he chose to make a stand for peace and justice.

Bhante chose Australia over other English-speaking countries because of our reputation for being a peaceful nation.

Bhante's true calling is to study what it means to live in peace. He was born 48 years ago in a small village in Central Burma. As a young boy he became a novice monk and went to live in a monastery in Mandalay, 100 kilometres south, to study Pali language and the way of the Buddha.

But in 1991, 3000 soldiers raided Bhante's monastery in Mandalay and attacked the 315 monks living there.

When Bhante heard that the soldiers were about to arrest him, he fled to the Indian border. For 18 years, Bhante lived in Dehli, with a Burmese family who he had known in Myanmar. He took English lessons from an Australian woman, who told him about Australia's multicultural society and inspired him to dream of living in Australia one day.

Now, Bhante attends English classes held at Charles Darwin University (CDU) by the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), which is funded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, and delivers free English classes to more than 400 migrants and refugees each year from countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Sudan, Somalia, Liberia, Congo, Burundi and Myanmar. Classes are held at CDU campuses in Casuarina, Palmerston and Alice Springs, as well as at Nhulunbuy, Katherine and Jabiru.

Bhante Pn Wa Ra – enjoying life in Australia

Now, studying in Australia is even more attractive. Your LIA Advisor can fully brief you on all changes in government policy.

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A town like Gold Coast City
Famous for its sun, surf and sand, Gold Coast is a city and local government area in the southeast corner of Queensland that stretches along 57 kilometres of coastline. It is the second most populous city in the state and the sixth most populous city in Australia.

Gold Coast City is renowned for its sunny subtropical climate and a skyline dominated by high-rise apartment buildings, active nightlife and wide variety of tourist attractions.

In the late 1950s and 60s, the development of the city's beach strip was rapid. From Southport to Coolangatta, holiday houses, motels and guesthouses were built to capture the fun and holiday atmosphere of the Gold Coast.

Gold Coast City sprawls across 1402 square kilometres (541 square miles). As at 30 June 2006, was home to an estimated 466,651 persons. By the year 2021 the population is expected to increase to 633,972 residents. However, Australia's fastest growing city is not only an ideal place to live or holiday, it is also one of Australia's fastest developing centres of business.

The beautiful Gold Coast sky line

If you're interested in a career on the Gold Coast, contact LIA without delay

Online resource for establishing a business on the Gold Coast.

More information about the Gold Coast.

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One nation, many cultures
Lygon Street Festa

Between the 1920s and 1950s, the inner-city Melbourne suburb of Carlton was the main destination for immigrant Italians. Most have now moved to the suburbs, and the proportion of Italian residents in Carlton is about 4 per cent compared with 30 per cent in its halcyon days.

Yet even today, Lygon Street is the beating Italian heart of Carlton, and the annual Lygon Street Festa is a joyous celebration of everything Italian. This popular leafy strip is lined with double-storey Victorian terraces that house dozens of Italian shops, cafes and restaurants. It's difficult to picture now, so fervent is Melbourne's love affair with coffee, but the first café to import an espresso machine in the 1950s had crowds of tea-drinking Melburnians queuing on the footpath to watch the bizarre, steaming contraption in action.

Melbourne's Italians (and lovers of things Italian) flock back to Carlton every October for the Lygon Street Festa, which attracts 600,000 people over a weekend and happen to be in the area around November then don't miss the Lygon Street Festival, a 3-day food feast and street party. The festa has been a longstanding tradition since it was masterminded by the traders of Carlton's cappuccino belt in 1978 and remains Australia's oldest street festival.

Crowd favourites include the waiters' race, the pizza throwing competition, bocce (bowls), fencing and ballroom dancing Italian-style.

Hurry up with that G&T! The waiter's race in full flight

Exquisite cuisine on every corner in Lygon Street

Folk from anywhere in the world are invited to contact LIA and ask about the almost endless Australian opportunities for skilled workers.

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More Arabs choosing Australia
About 75,000 tourists from the Middle East currently travel to Australia each year, and industry analysts expect that figure to increase to 225,000 by 2016.

"We are seeing some great growth from Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia," said Paul Buggy, Tourism Queensland's regional director for the Middle East.

"The Arab market has developed over the past five years as a very important market, not only for Australia, but for Queensland and particularly for the Gold Coast." Holidays are the main reason why Arab travellers head to Australia, especially during July and August when the summer temperatures in the Middle East can be overwhelming.

Others come to catch up with friends and relatives, to do business or to study. A growing number of students from Saudi Arabia are choosing courses in Australia rather than the United States.

Taufic Lawand, the managing director of a Gold Coast-based travel agency, believes many Arabs are fed up with the cold reception they get in the United States. They just don't feel welcome," Mr. Lawand said.

For its part, Australia has worked hard to lure Middle Eastern holidaymakers and students. A visa processing facility has been set up in Saudi Arabia, a sign that post-September 11 tensions and concerns are easing.

"Since September 11 there has been a lot of caution about going to Saudi Arabia," Mr Lawand said. "But this is easing. Earlier this month we worked closely with Tourism Queensland to do a road show within the kingdom and that was very successful. Tourism is a multibillion-dollar business in Australia; from small guesthouses in Tasmania's unspoilt wilderness to the glamorous resorts in Queensland."

So why choose a distant place like Australia? "Winter on the Gold Coast is just beautiful," said the Lebanon-born businessman. "It is mild, dry and it is a fresh environment. There is no pollution and there are clear blue skies. You can spend 40 or 50 days there and do something different every day if you want."

Concerned how you might fit in in Australia? Call LIA and see just how welcome you are!

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So how do you like Australia?
Peter Evans - Building site manager

Former Welshman Peter Evans, with wife Sue and son Andrew, 22, recently traded in a chilly London for a somewhat warmer Gold Coast.

They are part of a massive wave of British migrants who are now second only to Kiwis in the number of migrants choosing to make the Gold Coast home. The 2006 Census reveals more than 30,000 Gold Coast residents were born in the United Kingdom and that figure is growing by more than 500 every year. Mr Evans said the family first stopped in Brisbane while waiting for their immigration papers, drove to the Gold Coast for a visit, and fell in love. "Everything is so green, especially up in the Hinterland and around Mount Tamborine, it reminded us of some parts of the UK.

"But the weather was the clincher. For us it's paradise, our oasis, we have been loving every minute."

Happily, each British pound buys just over $2 and the Evanses loved that exchange rate. "We lived in what Aussies would call a duplex, or semi-detached house (in London)," said Mr Evans. "It was built in the 1930s and had three bedrooms. We sold it for £300,000."

That converted to about $620,000, which gave the family with a nice nest-egg to re-establish Downunder. They are building a two-storey, five-bedroom home with a pool in Upper Coomera.

Mr Evans, a building site manager, said they were astounded at the number of Brits who have moved to the Gold Coast's booming northern corridor. "Where we're building there are six other English couples," he said. "Many of our friends back in the UK are thinking about making the move." At a recent barbecue in the area, there were about 20 English couples, all looking at buying in Australia. Most UK migrants had a high net worth and the capacity to earn high wages in Australia.

No wonder Peter Evans and his family are settling in so well!

Peter Evans and family love life on the Gold Coast

Like to build a career in construction? Australia needs you. Contact LIA and ask about the opportunities!

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Australia-India trade agreements
The Minister for Trade, Simon Crean, met on May 20, 2008 with Indian Minister for Commerce and Industry, Kamal Nath, in Melbourne for annual bilateral trade discussions. Australia has an historic opportunity to build a stronger relationship with this emerging power in our region," said Mr Crean.

India is Australia's fastest growing major export market for both goods and services - increasing at over 30 percent annually over the last five years.

This is the third time Mr Crean has met Mr Nath. He is keen to ensure that Australia is best positioned to capitalise on the potential of the relationship, particularly in the resources and energy sectors, but also from Australia's competencies in services, manufactures, biotechnology and agriculture.

He said the discussions covered our broad cooperation in multilateral, regional economic and our bilateral trade ties.

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on intellectual property cooperation and have also begun new dialogues and exchanges on economic policy, water management issues and competition policy.

"This current financial year India has become the largest source of skilled migrants to Australia. It is also the second largest source of business and student visas. These links will ensure our economic relationship endures and continues to mature."

LIA is ideally set up to help skilled migrants from around the world investigate and apply for Australian visas. Contact us soon to activate your Australian opportunity.

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Aussie Recipe: Spanikopita
Some people say spanikopita is a Greek dish. Well, maybe. But it's estimated that 600,000-700,000 Greeks live in Australia (including second and third generations). 47% of Greek Australians live in Melbourne, sister city to Thessaloniki in northern Greece. Melbourne is the third largest "Greek city" in the world, so we reckon spanikopita is fair dinkum Australian. Anyway, it's delicious (εύγευστος).

What you need for 8
1kg (about 1 bunch) silverbeet, washed
160mls (2/3 cup) olive oil
3 medium brown onions, finely chopped
250g feta, crumbled
200g cottage cheese
4 eggs, lightly whisked
2 tbs finely chopped fresh Continental parsley
1 tbs finely chopped fresh dill
1/4 tsp freshly grated or ground nutmeg
Ground black pepper, to taste
9 sheets filo pastry (not the frozen variety)
1 tbs water

What you do
Preheat oven to 180°0.
Remove stems from the silverbeet leaves and chop the stems finely. Coarsely shred the leaves. Place the stems and leaves in a metal colander over a saucepan of boiling water, cover and steam for about 10 minutes or until wilted. Drain well and cool.
Meanwhile, heat 3 tbs of the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion for 5-8 minutes or until soft.
Squeeze the cooled spinach with your hands, to remove excess liquid. Add onions, feta, cottage cheese, eggs, parsley, dill and nutmeg to the spinach and mix. Season with pepper.
Brush a 20 x 30cm (2-1itre/8-cup) ovenproof dish with a little of the olive oil. Lay filo pastry flat on a work surface. Cover with a clean tea towel and then with a damp tea towel. Brush one half of a pastry sheet with the olive oil and then fold it in half. Place over the base of greased dish. Repeat with 2 more pastry sheets, brushing with a little olive oil between each layer.
Spread 1/2 the spinach mixture evenly over the pastry. Top with 3 more doubled pastry sheets, brushing with oil between each. Spread with the remaining spinach mixture and then top with another 3 doubled pastry sheets, brushing between each. Tuck any overhanging pastry down the side of the dish and brush with a little oil. Score the top with a sharp knife and sprinkle with the water. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden.

Aussies love a slab of Spanikopita!

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In Brief
Melbourne contributes $600,000 for Hindu temple
Melbourne has contributed $600,000 for the construction of a Royal Tower, in a new Hindu temple in Perth, Western Australia (WA), home to 8000-strong Hindu community from India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. WA Premier Alan Carpenter donned traditional Hindu garb at the consecration of the temple in Canning Vale on Sunday. WA Hindu Association president Mukesh Mani said the temple's consecration was a significant moment in the Hindu community's 23-year history.

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Rich and getting richer
While the economy has been booming, Australians have been getting richer. The 9.4% increase in real disposable average income in 2007 was the highest in 17 years. Despite an outcry over food and petrol prices, the 9.1% growth in real income from March 07 to March 08 far outweighed the 3.2% increase in the cost of consumer staples.

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New Australian visa scheme for unskilled workers
A proposed Pacific guest worker scheme is the latest attempt by the Rudd Government to fill the shortage of workers on farms and vineyards in the rural regions of Australia. The proposition could see 5,000 extra workers enter the country, in plans which soon could be endorsed by the Federal Cabinet. If approved, the Government will announce its plans to Pacific leaders in August. The temporary visa granted to the workers will allow Pacific Islanders to work in the country for seven months, and will be on the condition they work in regional areas.

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Aussie Word of the Month
Skite - boast, brag. (And be very pleased with yourself).

Aussie words in action: We wouldn't want to skite, but we reckon we're the most efficient, caring and hi-tech immigration service in the Land of Oz!

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Best Regards,

Peter Seers
Marketing & Client Services Manager