Australia: Business leaders urge focus on skills, not numbers, in migration debate

As political pressure mounts for significant reductions in migration, Australian business leaders are sounding an alarm. They argue that focusing solely on numbers overlooks the critical need for skilled workers across various sectors, including aged care and construction. These leaders are urging a shift in public discourse, emphasizing the importance of skills over arbitrary targets.

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Australia has a limit … and obviously, the world has a limit to how many people we can handle

The federal budget forecasts a decrease in net overseas migration from approximately 300,000 to 245,000 this financial year. The current permanent migration intake stands at 185,000 places, with about 70% allocated to skilled workers. Political parties have proposed different approaches, with One Nation advocating for a reduction to 130,000 and the Coalition suggesting a cap aligned with housing construction capacity.

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population growth is slowing in a lot of more advanced countries now, and that "immigration, for Australia, is the main way we grow

Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner acknowledged that while the tourism sector is less directly impacted by migration, he believes population growth, including migration, is essential for Australia's expansion. He suggested a range of 200,000 to 300,000 migrants annually as reasonable, emphasizing the significant contributions migrants make to the economy and multicultural society.

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I would say somewhere in that 200,000 to 300,000 a year [range], which is more or less in the middle of the Labor Party's proposals, is probably reasonable

However, e-commerce entrepreneur Ruslan Kogan has offered a different perspective. He argues against a purely business-centric view, stating that immigration policy should prioritize the nation's overall benefit. Kogan, who arrived in Australia as a child migrant from Belarus, believes in a more selective approach to immigration, ensuring it serves the broader interests of the country rather than just specific economic sectors. He stressed that immigration is a vital tool for nation-building.

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We're a country of migrants, and they contribute an enormous amount not only to our economy, but to our multicultural society, and most of that, I believe, is quite positive.