AUSTRALIA'S intake of skilled migrants will be slashed by 18,500 over the next three months — 14 per cent of the annual intake — in a dramatic move to protect local jobs.

the Rudd Government has responded to the deepening economic crisis by removing building and manufacturing trades from the list of workers Australia is seeking from overseas.

The list of critical skills is now confined mainly to the health and medical, engineering and IT professions.

The Government had already foreshadowed a reduction in skilled migrants — who form the bulk of the immigration intake — next financial year, with details to be announced in the May budget.

没什么比这更糟糕的消息了