Welcome for migrants as we finally open to world
Scott Morrison will allow more than 200,000 visa holders into the country in the transition to the reopening plan’s final phase.
Scott Morrison will allow more than 200,000 visa holders into the country, including students, economic migrants and refugees, as the federal government transitions to the final phase of the national reopening plan.
After double-dose vaccination rates for those aged over 16 pushed above 85 per cent on Sunday, the Prime Minister will move to further ease international border restrictions and put Australia on course to resume pre-Covid overseas travel levels.
The federal government will immediately focus on priority skilled migration and work on a long-term strategy around overseas workers in line with domestic apprenticeship pipelines.
The Australian understands a key focus for the government will be the shift to booster vaccines ahead of winter to avoid a European scenario where countries have been forced to reimpose Covid-19 restrictions.
The humanitarian program, which stalled during the pandemic, is expected to pick up into next year as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
Josh Frydenberg said safely reopening Australia’s international borders to skilled migrants and overseas students would “accelerate our economic recovery by helping to address shortages in our labour market and allowing businesses to expand and grow with confidence”.
The Treasurer said in the two years prior to the pandemic, Australia had averaged about 110,000 skilled migrants while at the same time earning “significant income” from the international student market.
“As our recovery gathers pace, businesses around the country are increasingly in need of skilled workers, whether they be in hospitality, mining, construction, or professional services,” he said.
“In meetings last week with businesses representing almost every sector of the economy, the most pressing issue raised was workforce shortages and the need to reopen our borders, allowing skilled migration to recommence.”
Mr Morrison is facing a bumpy fortnight with parliament resuming on Monday, as Coalition senators Gerard Rennick, Alex Antic and Matt Canavan prepare to cross the floor and support One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s bill against vaccine mandates.
Senator Hanson, who has threatened to withhold support for all government legislation in the final sittings weeks of the year, told Sky News she met with Mr Morrison last Thursday and had been granted approval to introduce her bill in the Senate on Monday.
“He said they will not be supporting my bill but will allow his members of parliament to cross the floor to support the bill.
“I don’t believe Labor or the Greens will support the bill. Why would they? It’s the state Labor premiers who are doing this to the people,” she said.
The move to speed up Australia’s reopening is expected to inflame tensions with state Labor leaders, who have resisted Mr Morrison’s calls to accelerate reopenings under the national plan.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday said Mr Morrison had no say on how states mandated vaccines and Covid-19 freedoms. “The Prime Minister doesn’t determine those matters. They are matters of state public health law and they are not a matter for the PM, frankly. I would refer him back to his national plan,” he said.
Following Covid-19 freedom protests in Sydney and Melbourne on Saturday, Mr Andrews said Mr Morrison was “incapable” of praising Victorians for working together to reopen the state.
Under phase D of the national plan agreed to by federal, state and territory leaders, international borders would reopen, a Covid-19 booster program would be in place and vaccinated overseas travellers allowed to enter the country without quarantine.
Marking the return of Singaporean students on Sunday, Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said about “130,000 international students remain outside Australia and they are all very eager to rejoin their classmates… We understand these initial numbers are small but they are a clear signal of the intent to allow many more students to return to classes and our communities soon.”
Employment Minister Stuart Robert said “there’s no question there is a shortage of workers because of borders being closed”.
“We’re short a couple of hundred thousand students that normally do 20 hours a week,” he told Sky News.
Mr Frydenberg said before the pandemic, Australia’s education exports were worth about $40bn with “some 750,000 international students in Australia supporting 250,000 local jobs”.
“Safely reopening our borders will allow us to capitalise on the strength of our education offering and world-leading health outcomes during this pandemic,” he said.
“Australia’s economic recovery is gaining pace, with the RBA upgrading its growth forecast for 2022 from 4.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent and unemployment falling to be sustainably in the 4’s.
“Opening up our borders to skilled workers and international students will be another important step contributing to Australia’s economic momentum.”
In the May budget, Treasury conservatively predicted a “gradual return of temporary and permanent migrants … from mid-2022”.
“Small phased programs for international students will commence in late 2021 and gradually increase from 2022.
“The rate of international arrivals will continue to be constrained by state and territory quarantine caps over 2021 and the first half of 2022, with the exception of passengers from safe travel zones,” the budget papers said.
“Inbound and outbound international travel is expected to remain low through to mid-2022, after which a gradual recovery in international tourism is assumed to occur.”
Predicting a weaker outlook for population growth and negative impacts on real GDP growth forecasts, Treasury had flagged -77,000 net overseas migration in the current financial year before bouncing back to 235,000 persons in 2024-25.
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