John Howard said the same thing about a skills shortage and increased immigration intake. 20 years later we still have a "skils shortage". So either there is no "skills shortage" or immigration does not fix a "skills shortage" but only kicks the can down the road.
This is all part of the endless backwards ponzi logic the political parties have been spouting the last few decades. It will have to end sometime, education and incentives will have to be utilised to get people to change to the needed careers imo.
