News

Migration - Geschrieben von: Administrator -    Donnerstag, den 27. Januar 2011 um 17:31 Uhr

A recent report by CommSec reveals that flood-affected areas may suffer laggard growth and a hampered rebuilding process due to continued shortages of skilled workers leading to calls from some for an increased immigration intake to cover the shortfall.

The report, titled State of the States, compares economic growth in all states and territories against the average or ‘normal’ growth rate for each area over the past 10 years.

The current pace of growth was also considered, but with the caveat that it may misrepresent the performance of individual states and territories over the long run.

The ACT and Western Australia are outperforming the rest of Australia on growth rates above 20 per cent, with Victoria and NSW lagging behind at rates below 15 per cent.

Queensland was listed as third at 17.4 per cent, but the report said the floods and on-going problems will continue to constrain the economy in the short term, with the economy likely to receive a boost from the reconstruction effort later this year.

But CommSec senior economist Craig James said demand for skilled workers was growing because of the mining boom and that Queensland's reconstruction could stall if the impending labour shortage was not averted. Mr James said that it is up to the Federal Government to boost immigration numbers and allow skilled migrants to take up the needed job positions to avoid bottlenecks forming in mining and construction projects around the country.

But entrepreneur Dick Smith, self-styled opponent of a so-called ‘Big Australia’ said acquiescing to Mr James’ pleas would only benefit wealthy business owners, to the detriment of the rest of society. He said the increased revenue from enlarged mining operations should be foresworn, leaving the mineral reserves to future use for generations to come.

Mr Smith said that businesses could still earn a profit by reducing waste and increasing efficiencies in a stable population economy.

Migration - Geschrieben von: Administrator -    Montag, den 23. August 2010 um 09:12 Uhr

Responding to Treasury advice to Population Minister Tony Burke in April that the economy faced "acute" capacity constraints in Queensland and Western Australia in the next two years, Professor Peter McDonald, a leading demographer, alerts that there would be serious consequences from any move by governments to limit migration.

"The . . . danger (of restricting migration) is inflation driven by wage pressure. Labour, particularly construction jobs, will get sucked into the resources sector in Queensland and WA because they pay higher wages," he said.

Population expert Glenn Withers said as well as the economy-wide inflationary danger, there was a risk resource projects could be affected without the necessary skilled workforce to get them up and running.

But Monash University demographer Bob Birrell said it was disingenuous to conflate the mining boom with immigration. "Immigration has nothing to do with the mining boom."

"Almost all migrants have arrived and stayed in the cities and their employment has been around the service sector." He argued the government should develop a specific mining immigration policy.

"The mining industry wants job-ready, just-in-time workers who don't need to be trained. They're asking for enterprise migration, and that makes sense. If you have a short-term boom, it makes sense not to compete for workers with the east coast but to bring them in as short-term temporary workers."

Migration - Geschrieben von: Administrator -    Montag, den 23. August 2010 um 09:06 Uhr

The warning was made by former Victorian premier Steve Bracks

In an impassioned speech in Melbourne last night, Mr Bracks urged Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott to "set the national tone" and recommit to multiculturalism.

"We need migrants," he said. "We need them in our workforce to drive our economy into the 21st century. We need them to help us make the transition to a sustainable economy. It's not a question of yes or no on migration."

While Labor has attempted to separate the population issue from immigration policy, despite overseas migration accounting for about two-thirds of population growth, the Coalition has not been as shy. It proposes to cap immigration at 170,000 a year as part of its effort to ensure Australia does not reach Treasury's projected population of 36 million by 2050. Bracks said he recognised the public concern and explained:

"Diversity -- when it's dwelled upon as a point of difference -- can be scary. But that's no excuse for backing away from what is in our best interests as a people," he said.

"If we become insular in our thinking, we will miss out on new opportunities for the kind of investment and next-generation technologies we need to make the leap from a carbon-intensive economy to a climate change economy.” "And if we miss out on those opportunities overseas, the future prosperity and sustainability of our nation will be at risk."

Mr Bracks said the current political leaders should heed the lessons of the recent past.

"Every Australian government since 1973 has stayed true to the principle behind multiculturalism -- that diversity is a strength, not a weakness, that we have far more to gain than fear," he said.

"The success or failure of multiculturalism is not just up to Julia Gillard or Tony Abbott. Leaders can set the national tone. Leaders can set an example.”

Migration - Geschrieben von: Administrator -    Donnerstag, den 05. August 2010 um 06:05 Uhr

The Australian Financial Review (July 31 – August 1, 2010)

Report: Mark Ludlow

The Australian federal government report has predicted shortfalls of 36000 tradespeople, 1700 engineers and 3000 geoscientists over the next five years.

Mackay mayor Col Meng believes any move to reduce immigration levels will only damage the resurgent resources boom. “I think [migrants] are needed and they will be needed forever and a day no matter what political party is in power”, Mr Meng told the Weekend AFR. “We need to look at it smartly and bring in migrants that are employable and have a trade. But I think it’s important we keep the 457 visas going and we keep bringing people in.”

His comments came after Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche criticised both major parties during the week for their “absolute silence” on who would fill the estimated 45,000 new construction jobs in the mining sector over the next few years.

Mr Meng said while economic activity had slowed last year as companies assessed the impact of the global financial crisis, the surge in activity from mines in the Bowen Basin was back on in earnest.

The resurgence was on display in Mackay during the week as 11,000 miners, suppliers and industry representatives converged on the biennial Queensland Mining and Engineering Exhibition (QME). The event, which is seen as a good barometer of the health of the resources sector, had delivered a $10 million boost to the local economy.

Mackay is based in the marginal Labor seat of Dawson (2.6 per cent). The fast-growing regional city is a hub for fly-in, fly-out miners and mining services industries. And while locals might be calling it “boom two”, the mayor reckoned the demand for the state’s coal would be one never-ending boom.