The business lobby, policy makers and the federal government have for years run the argument that Australia needs to run a mass immigration program to overcome future skills shortages.
The argument generally goes something like this:
- Australia’s population is ageing fast and with the large baby boomer cohort headed into retirement, Australia is facing an acute shortage of workers.
- Australia, therefore, needs to import large numbers of workers from abroad to ensure that it has enough workers to fill jobs and support retirees.