Is Australia An Immigration Nation? (1)

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Is Australia An Immigration Nation?
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Introduction

• The impact of the COVID pandemic was immense.
  Australia itself now feeling the effects of its
  two-year border closure policies. The strict
  border regulations may have seemed necessary,
  considering the plight of the pandemic. However,
  businesses across the country are now struggling
  to find workers, leaving over half a million jobs
  vacant. This is a poor sight for a country once
  dubbed an immigration nation.

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• A good example is the rapidly increasing For
  Lease signs on display across Melbourne city.
  Who wouldve thought that in just a single year,
  the citys 5 million population number would
  decrease by 60,500? Of course, its wearying
  lockdowns certainly did not help. Migrant
  workers, international students and many other
  first and second-generation Australians all
  choosing to move away has left the citys working
  sector scarred. This is consistent across the
  nation and widespread across many sectors such as
  hospitality, child care, IT, education, etc.

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• No doubt this is a crisis for a country that has
  relied on immigration to boost its economy over
  the past 20-30 years. Now the Labour government
  led by Prime minister Anthony Albanese seeks to
  rebuild the countrys reputation on the global
  front for skilled workers. Although the
  government have laid out a more optimistic
  approach in the federal budget for the 2022-23
  financial year, with the main intention being to
  increase permanent immigration, the country will
  continue to struggle in building trust with the
  international market.

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• The countrys hard border closure earning it the
  unfavourable name Fortress Australia along with
  the failure to provide benefits, food, social
  support, and housing to migrant workers resulted
  in such a situation.

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• Although Australia would have to work hard to
  ensure it can compete with other countries such
  as Canada and the UK in the international market
  once again, its recently proposed strategies will
  help the nation progress towards that direction.
  Another important measure is to ensure the
  reduction in visa for business in Australia
  processing times and provide a straightforward
  visa package that will allow companies across
  various industries to secure valuable
  international talent.

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• There has also been a consideration in scrapping
  the much-criticized Significant Investor Visa
  (SIV) program to ensure that skilled
  international migrant workers are prioritized.
  The SIV program grants visas to investors who
  invest 5 million into the country. Although the
  program has allowed large-scale investment of
  around 11.8 billion into many businesses, it is
  criticized as many see it as an easy pathway for
  wealthy individuals to live in the country, 85
  of whom come from China.

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• Despite the importance the Australian government
  now place on attracting a large number of migrant
  workers, there is still a concern as to whether
  Australians would welcome an increase in
  immigration. In a recent survey of 1607 voters,
  33 were opposed to the idea of increasing
  permanent migration.

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• Economic Policy Director at Grattan Institute
  Brendan Coates makes the point that an increase
  in permanent migration will ensure larger fiscal
  dividends for the economy however, the country
  must not overly rely on cheap foreign labour, as
  this will prevent the appropriate training of
  Australians. No matter the attitude Australians
  may have, there is no doubt that Australia is
  desperate for skilled workers and migration and
  therefore will look to ensure that it can address
  the economy-wide skills shortage.