Due to Government cut backs the SA On Arrival Accommodation and Meet and Greet services have been shelved .

What a shame - we used both of these services and thought they were excellent.

Old news. They might have been excellent from your perspective but I struggle to see why tax payers should fund this service. And somebody who is migrating to the other side of the world really should be able to sort themselves out on arrival.

That's a little harsh, don't you think? We used both services and found them to be really helpful. Maybe you and Mr BS managed quite nicely - no kids to drag around, money to get yourselves sorted, etc. - but not all of us had that luxury. We came with about $30k in savings, 40kg of luggage each; 160kg luggage, and two kids. The meet & greet service was excellent! And while we only stayed in our accommodations for 6 weeks, it too was excellent. And before you get the wrong idea, it was not free. We paid rent to the SA government. The houses or units are former SAHousing units which got turned into short term accommodation for immigrants to South Australia.

Surely it is up to the tax payers of SA.

Harsh? Harsh on who?

Emmigrating is not an essential or a basic need (for most of us) and I simply do not see why taxpayers should fund / partially fund this service. There are plenty of things in life I cannot afford and I do not expect tax payers to fund them.

It probably is a 'luxury' that can be done without. But I'm sure SA government were doing it all as part of trying to promote the state and attract immigrants.

SA tax payers have and no doubt still do need skilled immigration.

I expect they are not going on demonstrations about cuts to the meet and greet service.

There are plenty of willing migrants, some have been waiting for years, the taxpayer doesn't need to pay to encourage it.

This service isnt available in many states and people still manage to emigrate ok

SA struggles to attract and retain migrants (hell, they struggle to retain South Australians!), and programs like this were probably put in place to try and help rectify this issue. Cutting it might help with their budget but could hurt the state in the long run.

State governments in Australia do not have a good track record when it comes to long term strategy.

If they offer state sponsorship surely that's the incentive? They don't have to wipe their arse as well

Sure. I'm not saying that I agree with this program but just wanted to show their way of thinking

Governments should stick to their core function and stay out of our lives as much as possible

agree mate

If you are sponsored by the state then anything they can do to assist was appreciated and by providing this service the government is helping to protect their investing. I heard of a family who arrived and within a week they went home....

For us, the OAA provided all our needs until you settled especially considering from visa grant to arrival was only a month - we only stayed for 6 weeks. Some migrants rely on other family members or friends to settle in.

Agreed that according to taxpayers this isn't the highest priority.

A family going home after one week says it all.

A lot more people emigrate with no family over here, find their own way and are still successful in their move.