So... we need more migrants to build the houses and infrastructure for more migrants.
Sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Note: I doubt the Coalition would be doing anything majorly different
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles says skilled migrants are needed to build new homes, warning Australia must engage in a sober debate on the pressure the surge of overseas arrivals is placing on the housing crisis.
In a marked intervention in the political debate about “big Australia”, Giles said while the population is lower than was forecast before the pandemic, the nation’s mortgagees and renters faced “significant pressure points” in the housing market.
“I think this is a really important debate, but it’s really important that it is carried out in a considered manner,” Giles said in an interview.
“I think the biggest driver for increasing demand and one of the key aspects is, of course, one of the skill shortages that we’re experiencing is the skills we need from migrants to build the houses in Australia.”
His comments highlight the tightrope walk the Albanese government faces over curbing the overseas net migration intake while importing the skills the country desperately needs for critical industries, including construction.
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Construction lobby Master Builders Australia has been pushing to make it easier for building and construction workers to obtain skilled visas to plug the critical shortfall in labour needed to meet the government’s ambitious housing demands.
“We need at least 480,000 new workers to enter the industry in coming years for business as usual. This number does not include the huge workforce that will need to be trained to meet the net zero transformation or housing accord goals,” MBA chief executive Denita Wawn said.
(SMH Angus Thompson)
