Australia’s 500,000 ‘missing’ temporary migrants have exacerbated labour shortages in some sectors. But there’s no need for policy makers to panic.
- Senior Associate, Grattan Institute
Australia’s debates about migration tend to focus too much on numbers, and not enough on who we choose. Accepting 30,000 more skilled permanent workers is a good move – but there’s more to be done.
Defining skill shortage by lists of occupations is inflexible for a rapidly changing labour market. Australia needs a different approach to organise its temporary skilled migration programs.
Attributing Australia’s economic success to closed borders runs the risk of leaving us with the wrong lesson the next time the things turn down.
If we open up the international borders before enough of the population is vaccinated, hospitals could become overwhelmed and deaths would be unacceptably high.
Most skills shortages are temporary. When migrations resumes, the ones we select will be here for decades.
Allowing Australians to use their super to buy homes would most benefit those with the most super. They’re the least in need.
From heatwaves to droughts to storms, climate change poses one of the biggest health threats to Australians. Yet the federal government makes no mention of it in its strategic health planning.
Despite a lighter lockdown, Sweden hasn’t avoided the damaging economic disruption experienced elsewhere.
Grattan institute estimates suggest that up to 26% of the workforce – 3.4 million Australians – are likely be thrown out of work as a direct result of the shutdown.
Over the past week, we’ve seen about 350 new cases per day. If this rate continues, Australia’s current ICU system will be able to cope.
The University of Sydney took in about A$750 million from international students in 2017. Two-thirds of that – about $500 million – came from international students from China.
An examination of 80,000 enterprise bargaining agreements finds that on average 80% of each increase in compulsory super has been at the expense of wages.
Before deciding what to study at which university, high school graduates should consider the drop-out rates, early-career employment prospects and lifetime earnings their program is likely to yield.
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