One of the main arguments in favour of running a Big Australia mass immigration policy is that it will alleviate chronic skills shortages across the economy.
This argument has been run to death by various business lobbies for decades, who have helped shape policy.
For example, a Senate Inquiry from 2002, put forward by the Howard Government on behalf of the business lobby, complained of ‘serious skill shortages and skill gaps’ in Australia and warned that unless we did something about it – i.e. import a lot of workers – Australia’s economy would not develop and would simply end up going backwards. Below are key extracts from this 2002 inquiry:
