A business lobby group has recently come into light for their efforts in helping migrants in Australia ahead of a meeting between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and state and territory leaders.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is set to have his first meeting with the state and territory leaders since gaining the hot seat to discuss the population policy.
In the face of widespread criticism of Australia’s migration policy, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has taken the step of supporting the current migration structure.
A statement released by the ACCI highlights the positive changes created by migrants, and argues that migrants help to provide the platform for businesses to flourish in the country.
The ACCI also recommends that the beneficial impact migrants have on the country should be considered while the new population policies are being made.
It goes on to suggest that the migration program can be improved further to incorporate the skill and labor needs of the country, as required.
Moreover, the chamber said that in order to facilitate the policy in favor of migration, all skilled occupations should allow employer-nominated migration, while the associated fees and charges should be at par with the global standards.
“Politicians would never tell people to stop growing their businesses and employing more people because of strains on infrastructure, so they should not do so for migration”, said the chief executive of ACCI, James Pearson.
Peter Colacino from Infrastructure Australia agreed on the fact that the failure to deal with population growth lies with the government, citing a lack of proper planning as the prime reason behind it.
According to Mr. Colacino, the planning policies need to be revised across all the governmental levels in order to ensure proper growth of communities.
“We need to have good plans to ensure the increasing population is matched by investment in infrastructure and services to keep cities livable”, he said.
Elsewhere, Peter McDonald, a demographer from the University of Melbourne, called for the current policy – which prioritises young and skilled migrants – to be continued, as it has multiple benefits – including adding to the size of the economy and contributing to GDP per capita.
“It increases the standard of living of everybody”, Mr. McDonald said.
While Prime Minister Morrison has his own plan about a potential “population framework”, he has still asked the state and territory leaders to submit their own plans, designating areas where new migrants can be accommodated.
