Australia will increase its annual migration intake to 300,000 people a year - the biggest rise since the end of World War II. The increase in the annual quota is intended to address the country's chronic skills shortages.
澳大利亚把外来移民定额增加到每年30万人，这是二战结束以来增长最多的一次。增加每年的移民人数是为了应对澳大利亚长期的技术人员短缺。
Australia's booming economy does not have enough qualified workers and immigration has become an important economic tool.
澳大利亚迅速发展的经济得不到足够的合格劳动力，因此移民就成为了重要的经济手段。
This year 300,000 permanent and temporary migrants will be allowed to settle in Australia. Just over 133,000 skilled workers will be allowed in, and about 13,000 refugees will be granted visas.
今年，有30万永久移民或者临时移民被允许到澳大利亚定居。超过13万3千技术工人可以移居澳大利亚，一万三千难民可以得到移民签证。
The government also plans to test a new program to recruit unskilled workers from the South Pacific.
澳大利亚政府还计划试行一个新的项目，从南太平洋地区征召非技术工作者。
For years, governments of Pacific island nations have urged Australia to allow islanders to plug gaps in its labor force.
多年来，太平洋岛国政府一直敦促澳大利亚允许他们的国民到澳洲填补劳动力的空缺。
Economic necessity has prompted Canberra to finally relent. Many Australian companies simply do not have enough staff, and that could stunt economic growth.
经济的需求最终致使堪培拉放宽了政策。很多澳大利亚企业面临人员不足的困境，这可能会导致经济受阻。
Under the new test program, islanders would be recruited on a short-term basis, particularly in seasonal industries such as fruit picking.
在这个新的暂行移民项目中，太平洋岛国民众可以通过短期招聘，特别是季节性生产、例如收获水果等方面的需求到澳大利亚工作。
Associate Professor Richard Brown, who studies migration issues at the University of Queensland, says the plan would benefit everyone.
昆士兰大学研究遗民问题的副教授里察德.布朗说，这个计划将有利于所有的人。
"Our argument is by opening up the Australian labor market to unskilled migrants from the Pacific islands a) we would alleviate certain bottlenecks in the supplies in both skilled and unskilled areas and b) we would be making a significant contribution to the development of the island economies especially in terms of poverty alleviation," Brown said.
布朗说：“我们的观点是，对太平洋各岛国非技术移民开放澳大利亚的劳务市场，一则我们可以在提供技术和非技术移民方面减轻某些方面遇到的瓶颈，二则可以为这些岛国经济的发展、特别是缓解贫穷的压力上作出可观的贡献。”
There are concerns too that high levels of unemployment in the South Pacific could contribute to political instability.
不过也有人担心，南太平洋国家的高失业率可能会造成政治的不稳定。
Under a pilot program New Zealand will grant visas to 5,000 guest workers this year.
在一个试验项目中，新西兰今年将为5千名临时劳工发放签证。
The Wellington government hopes the initiative will help the economies of the Pacific island nations and make them less reliant on aid from Australia and New Zealand.
惠灵顿政府希望这个作法将帮助太平洋国家的经济，使它们不必过于依赖澳大利亚和新西兰的经济援助。 |