Productivity Commission endorses low-wage 'skilled' visas

The Productivity Commission’s (PC) latest Productivity Report (a misnomer) goes to great lengths spruiking the virtues of Australia’s mass immigration system.

Federal Budget impacts of mass immigration

The PC’s key thesis is the myopic view that immigration improves the federal budget, while giving zero consideration of the impacts of immigration-driven population growth on state budgets, housing, infrastructure, the environment or broader living standards.

Sadly, the PC has also drunk the Grattan Institute’s Kool Aid and supports the Grattan Institute’s $70,000 wage floor for temporary skills shortage (TSS) visas, which is $15,000 less than the median full-time wage, which is dragged down by unskilled workers:

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.

Productivity Commission endorses low-wage ‘skilled’ visas