EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- The Australian Financial Review reports that Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population Alan Tudge has said that a “modest reduction” in migration was one of the four measures the government would undertake as part of its population plan to take pressure off Australia’s big cities. However, Professor Peter McDonald has said that congestion was a “spurious argument” for cutting migration, and argues that Australia’s optimal migration growth rate was between 160,000 and 220,000 people per annum. The government’s reduced cap on migration is at the very bottom end of the scale.
- The Sydney Morning Herald and SBS report on backlash from business leaders following Labor’s plan to increase the minimum wage for temporary skilled visa holders by 21 per cent to $65,000. Tally Konstas, owner of Melbourne bars Emerald Peacock and The Seamstress, says that the increase “takes choice away from the employer and the employee” and restricts opportunities for migrant staff, much like his own, to grow in their roles. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive James Pearson says that “migrants don’t take jobs, they create them” and that the proposed changes would be a “body blow” for regional areas.
- The Australian reports that Migration Council Australia chief Carla Wilshire says Labor’s promised parents’ visa – which would not limit the number of parents who could be sponsored per migrant couple – would be welcomed by Chinese-Australian families. The policy was promoted heavily on the popular Chinese social media service, WeChat, where it was compared to the Coalition’s offering, yet some users questioned how a single household would be able to sponsor up to four parents.
- Business Skills Visas are on the rise
POLITICAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Congestion ‘a spurious argument’ for curbing migrant intake
Australian Financial Review, Other, 23/04/2019, Ingrid Fuary-Wagner
Congestion across Australia’s biggest cities is a “spurious argument” for cutting Australia’s intake of migrants, according to economists and demographers, including one who argues the country’s ideal population should increase to more than double its current size. The federal government announced in its budget this month it would reduce Australia’s permanent migrant intake from 190,000 to 160,000 per annum in an effort to tackle congestion and improve liveability within our largest cities.
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Employers wary as Bill Shorten promises 2.6m casual workers the right to convert
Sydney Morning Herald, Other, 23/04/2019, Dana Mccauley
Labor leader Bill Shorten has bowed to union demands and will promise 2.6 million casual workers an easier pathway to permanent employment, as part of a widening overhaul of Australia’s industrial relations system that has drawn warnings from nervous business leaders. Mr Shorten will announce on Wednesday he will legislate to give casual workers an easier pathway to permanency if Labor is elected, as his plan to make it more expensive to hire skilled foreign workers draws the wrath of employers. Read More
Candidates discuss issue of bringing migrants to Capricornia
Morning Bulletin, Other, 23/04/2019, Leighton Smith
Capricornia’s candidates have shared their answers to The Morning Bulletin’s latest question: Do you think bringing migrants to the region benefits the economy? LNP Michelle Landry: “There is no question that migration to an area is beneficial to its economy, regardless where it is,” Ms Landry said. Read More
Labor warned foreign worker crackdown won’t help unemployed Australians and could make it worse
SBS.COM.AU , Other, 23/04/2019, Rosemary Bolger
Labor’s proposed crackdown on foreign worker visas will do little to help out-of-work Australians, business groups and employment experts have warned. Announcing plans to raise the minimum wage for overseas guest workers and enforce skills shortage tests, Labor leader Bill Shorten said there were 1.6 million visa holders in Australia with work rights.Read More
Locals are missing out’: Shorten vows to crack down on foreign worker visas
SBS.COM.AU , Other, 23/04/2019, Rosemary Bolger
Labor has vowed to reduce the number of foreign workers in Australia by increasing the minimum wage and stricter enforcement of skill shortage tests. “We want to make sure that short term skilled migration doesn’t just become an excuse for cheap labor, exploitation of guest workers and locals missing out,” Mr Shorten told reporters in Queensland. Read More
2GB, Mornings, 24/04/2019, Ray Hadley
Hadley says there was a question put to Bill Shorten in Qld yesterday on tax that will flow to people on high income. He adds a bloke confronted Shorten about people earning over $200,000 to $250,000 a year and women in the workforce.
River FM, 14:00 News, 23/04/2019
Federal Labor is promising to slash a temporary parent visa fee and remove a cap of 15,000 visas to allow migrant families to stay longer together if he wins Government. Shayne Neumann, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Blair MP, says it means families will also need to decide between grandparents.
LEGISLATION CHANGES
No relevant coverage
INDUSTRY ISSUES
Visa crackdown would worsen skill shortages, employers warn
Australian Financial Review, Other, 23/04/2019, David Marin-Guzman
Skill shortages in regional areas would worsen under Labor’s promise to increase the minimum income threshold for visa workers, businesses have warned.Mechanics, chefs, nurses and other trade occupations in rural and regional areas have been named as occupations that will likely not meet Labor’s higher Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) of $65,000 a year, up by 21 per cent from $53,900, and indexed to inflation. Read More
Parents fodder in clash to sway vote using visas
The Australian, Other, 23/04/2019, Ben Packham and Heidi Han
Labor’s pledge to introduce an uncapped visa allowing migrant households to sponsor up to four ageing parents will be “very popular” among those facing waits of up to 30 years for permanent parents’ visas, experts say. Migration Council Australia chief Carla Wilshire said Labor’s promised parents’ visas, which would not limit the number of parents who could be sponsored per migrant couple, would be welcomed by Chinese-Australian families, which the ALP hopes could swing up to four key seats.
Bill Shorten taking a risk with millennial pitch
The Australian, Other, 24/04/2019, Robert Gottliebsen
The corporate world is watching with fascination the risks Bill Shorten and the ALP are taking in the in putting a significant portion of their 2019 election campaign eggs in the millennial basket. The focus on the millennials starts on the positive side, with policies that 18-37 years olds find attractive on climate change, lower house prices, and higher wages including higher shift allowances. Read More
International undergrads vulnerable to dodgy agents
The Australian, Other, 24/04/2019, Christopher Niesche
For Nepalese student Manesh, coming to Australia to study nursing was the chance to gain an education and some work experience before he returned home to start his career. But his treatment at the hands of a Nepal-based education agent has left him disillusioned and in a course that won’t deliver him any practical nursing experience. Read More
Dumb and dumber: take your pick
The Australian, Other, 24/04/2019, Judith Sloan
I honestly thought the Coalition’s immigration policies couldn’t get any dumber. I was wrong. Its policies are definitely dumb, but Labor’s are dumber. Let me quickly point out the key weaknesses of the Coalition’s suite of policies that is leading to record levels of net overseas migration, with immigration responsible for two-thirds of our rapid population growth. Read More
‘You can’t pull people out of thin air’: Labor visa plan worries employers
Sydney Morning Herald, Other, 23/04/2019, Anthony Colangelo
Tally Konstas can see four good reasons not to implement Labor’s proposed changes to skilled migration laws. He has four migrant staff – two chefs and two floor managers – that he says he would not have been able to hire if the minimum wage for migrants was lifted in the manner Opposition Leader Bill Shorten proposed on Tuesday. Read More
ALP clamp on foreign worker visas leaves AMEC cold
West Australian, Other, 24/04/2019, Stuart McKinnon
The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies says a proposed crackdown on skilled migration visas will do nothing to ease a shortage of workers in some areas of the mining sector. The lobby group made the comments after the Labor Party announced plans to restrict temporary work visas to jobs where there was a genuine skills shortage as part of a pitch to voters ahead of next month’s Federal Election.
