Following a membership survey, Townsville Enterprise has called on the Federal Government to give regional Queensland a fair crack by scrapping proposed changes to Australia’s migration policy. Under the Department of Home Affairs review of regional migration discussion paper, proposed changes could see halving of skilled migration into country, potential changes to Townsville’s regional status for working holiday makers, and a reduced cap on international students.
If implemented these migration policy changes would see workforce shortages exacerbated in key industries such as agriculture and tourism and could be detrimental to the regions ability to deliver on nation building infrastructure and critical regional projects.
Townsville Enterprise, CEO, Claudia Brumme-Smith said Townsville’s ability to attract international students and migrants were critical to the growth of the region.
“This region is on the biggest growth trajectory we have seen in more than a decade. We know that our $33B pipeline of major infrastructure projects will require 20,000 additional skilled workers in the next five years. Migration is absolutely essential to ensure our economic potential can be achieved.”
“Our recent membership survey indicates that approximately 80% of businesses are employing migrants under one or more visas that would be impacted by this proposed review. Importantly, 30% of migrants take a pathway to permanent residency.”
“We also saw that 30% of businesses were offering housing support as part of their employment packages.”
“This is not the time to be reducing migration to our region, it is needed now more than ever, and we hope to work with Government to ensure that we don’t hinder our long-term regional prosperity.”
“The Working Holiday Maker Visa could see a significant change in the regional status meaning Townsville could be competing with the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast for these workers. With a population of more than 1.1 million on the doorstep of these areas, its simply not fair to put Townsville in this same category and would be detrimental to industries that rely on these workers.”
The Ville Resort-Casino CEO, Michael Jones highlights the vital role of Working Holiday Makers.
“Working Holiday Makers are an integral part of our team, with more than 15% of our staff employed under the scheme and making up over 20% of our front-line staff. Their international experience is highly valued,” Mr. Jones said.
“We saw during COVID the impact on the hospitality sector when we don’t have access to migrants. We have tried so hard to employ local, but it just doesn’t work – migrants are essential part of ensuring our business stays open, and without the contributions of migrants, we would not have been able to open Ardo late last year.”
“If these proposed policy changes are implemented it will have a devasting effect on our entire tourism and agricultural industry. Not only would we lose key skills, but it will also impact service levels, customer experience and in many cases could risk shutting down some businesses.”
James Cook University, Professor Simon Biggs said, “Regional workforce needs are significant and attraction of highly skilled people choosing to stay on to work in the north will be a vital part of our economic development.”
