MELBOURNE, 04/04/06 - The Netherlands can learn from the Australian immigration policy, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said yesterday. He is in Australia for five days to celebrate 400 years of Dutch-Australian relations.

Australia has an extremely strict immigration policy, in which economic benefit, knowledge of the English language and health play a major role. The Dutch policy should also head in this direction. "Participation in the labour market in particular is a point we should emphasise more for younger generations of immigrants," Balkenende observed after a visit to the Immigration Museum in Melbourne.

The Prime Minister described the current Dutch policy as fair and not as strict. "We have lived parallel lives in the Netherlands for too long." In future, immigrants must "learn the lessons of the new country" before leaving the old one. "They must first ask themselves what they can contribute, what they can expect and what the requirements for success are. And they must respect the law and speak the language."

Balkenende considered it too soon to say concretely which parts of the immigration policy were suitable for the Netherlands. But talks with the originally Chinese Mayor of Melbourne, John So, and others had given him the impression that the strict Australian selection procedure bore fruit. "There are so many different nationalities in Melbourne, who all get along in a friendly manner. A land must be united in order to be varied."