For years, Deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne and principal fellow at Melbourne University, Nick Reece, has vigorously supported the mass immigration ‘Big Australia’ policy. For example, he stated the following propaganda in 2017 on his Politics HQ program: “Countries that don’t have strong immigration programs often get themselves into trouble. And probably the best example
A survey of more than 700 education agents by education services company Navitas suggests that international students are once again yearning for Australia. 73% of agents reported rising interest in Australia over the previous two months, up significantly from only 28% last October: Australia is bouncing back! Almost three-quarters of agents (73%) agree that over
In late May, I praised Australia’s union movement for demanding that the minimum salary threshold for skilled migrants be set well above full-time average weekly earnings – i.e. above $90,000 – in order to be credible: “To be credible the threshold needs to be well above full-time average weekly earnings,” [Michael Wright, the acting national
The federal government has announced a short-term fix for the nation’s skilled labour shortage. It will give priority to processing 57,906 applications for permanent visas by skilled workers who are based overseas, with a view to announcing an increase in the skilled migrant intake after the jobs and skills summit in September. As a result,
Engineers Australia chief engineer Jane MacMaster says the shortage of engineers is the worst she has ever seen, while tens of thousands of engineers will be needed over the next few years. However, MacMaster also says that 40% of skilled migrant engineers in Australia are currently not working as engineers, and she says that one
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek will release the latest State of the Environment report at the National Press Club on 19 July, with the report being a five-yearly accounting to Parliament of the health of the environment. Plibersek will describe the report as “shocking” and one that outlines a decade of “government inaction and wilful ignorance”:
Over the past year, business groups have lobbied the federal government to ramp-up immigration via: Uncapping access to temporary migrant workers and abolishing labour market testing on Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) visas. Speeding up and lowering the cost 0f visa applications. Doubling the permanent ‘skilled’ migrant intake to 200,000 people a year to make up
Late last year, the former Morrison Government attempted to open the student visa floodgates by uncapping the number of hours those on a student visa could work, alongside extending the amount of time that international graduates can work in Australia. These reforms were explicitly announced by the former government to ensure a “rapid return of
In May, The AFR reported that the volume of fraudulent student visa applications had mushroomed, dominated by India and Nepal. Former regulator for the vocational training sector, Claire Field, explained that lifting restrictions on the number of hours students were allowed to work had attracted non-genuine students. In turn, “there are allegations of significant visa
Yesterday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its labour market survey for June, which revealed that Australia’s unemployment rate fell 0.4% to its lowest level (3.5%) since August 1974, whereas the underemployment rate (6.1%) edged 0.3% higher. Labour underutilisation (i.e. unemployment and underemployment combined), fell to its lowest level since 1982: Even though total
Transurban director Peter Scott has called for a big ramp-up in ‘skilled’ migration in order to boost the construction of infrastructure and houses: Transurban director and former CEO of MLC Peter Scott is among 80 per cent of top directors who warn attracting and retaining skilled labour has become the top concern for business, according
PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh has warned that Australia’s rental affordability crisis is set to worsen as immigration is ramped-up: “Rental competition is tough at the moment”… “The number of properties available for rent has fallen to historically low levels and demand to rent is up, particularly in the capital cities, with Covid-normal underway and
Yesterday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released overseas arrivals and departures data for May, which revealed there were a net 6,750 permanent and long-term arrivals into Australia over the month, although the quarterly intake fell to only 12,380 migrants: Over the year to May 2022, there were only 61,560 net long-term migrant arrivals: As
Ahead of the upcoming employment and skills summit, Australia’s business groups have stepped up pressure on the Albanese Government to open the immigration floodgates, demanding the cap on skilled permanent migration be doubled to 200,000 a year, and end to skilled occupation lists and labour market testing, and the rapid processing of visas: Employers are
Fairfax has published interesting data showing the rapid turnaround in domestic migration flows to/from Victoria over the pandemic, with the state moving from migrant magnet to repellant. Of the nearly 32,000 people that left Victoria, around 23,000 moved north to Queensland: Through the two years of COVID-19, Victoria lost a net 31,700 people to other
After Labor ministers last week flagged a massive ramp-up in immigration, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today threw his support behind an increase in Australia’s permanent migrant intake: Anthony Albanese has addressed the issues of migration and visa backlogs in relation to skills shortages, saying Australia needs to create better pathways for workers to have a permanent
In a report titled ‘Housing for All’, Anglicare Australia claims that housing in Australia is in “meltdown” and that the housing market has never been more volatile or less affordable”. The charity wants 500,000 new social housing and low-cost rental properties to be constructed over the next 20 years: To say that housing in Australia
The Albanese Government has dashed any hopes for a more moderate and sustainable immigration policy under Labor. Following incessant whining from businesses about skills shortages and visa backlogs, Labor ministers have flagged a massive ramp-up in immigration: Treasurer Jim Chalmers says Labor could ease migration caps to bring more foreign workers into Australia, part of
In May, former Labor leader and shadow minister for the NDIS and government services, Bill Shorten, admitted that Australia’s stunning jobs market – the best in generations – has been driven by the collapse in immigration over the pandemic: Rafael Epstein: We do have a remarkable number today: the lowest unemployment rate since 1974… Do the
A fortnight ago, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) CEO, Andrew McKellar, called on the federal government to open up employer-sponsored ‘skilled’ visas to all occupations: “The current delays just aren’t good enough when so many businesses are left without staff and therefore can’t afford to stay open… “To make the skilled migration system
Australia has a record 480,000 job vacancies, with KPMG chief economist Brendan Rynne saying there is a “skills mismatch” between the sorts of jobs available and the skills possessed by those who are seeking work. Boosting immigration and developing training systems that allow people to reskill more quickly are seen as among the solutions to
The ‘Big Australia’ immigration shills continue to pile pressure on the Albanese Government to throw open Australia’s border, this time calling for an abolition of skilled occupation lists, reductions in visa fees, and the easing of bureaucratic processes surrounding immigration: “Occupation lists need to go, they do not work,” Grattan Institute economic policy program director,
The big business shills at The AFR View have penned another spurious article calling for Australia to triple its population to 75 million people over the next 70 years: By census night in August last year, Australia’s population had swelled to 25.5 million. That is triple the paltry 8 million people who inhabited this island-continent
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) yesterday released population data for the December quarter, which showed that Australia’s population growth rose by 63,400 over the quarter: This occurred on the back of a swing in net overseas migration (NOM) back into positive, with NOM rising by 29,200 over the quarter: Annual population growth nationally rose
A new study by public policy consultants SGS Economics and Planning warns that an acute shortage of affordable housing amid decades of under-investment and rising population growth (read immigration) is set to cost taxpayers $25 billion a year if nothing is done: Social housing – a catch-all phrase covering public housing and other forms of
