Business leaders urge focus on skills not numbers in migration debate
Australian business leaders are urging the government to prioritize skilled migration over raw population numbers to prevent labor shortages. They argue that immigrants are essential for industries like aged care, construction, and tourism.
Why it matters
This debate highlights the tension between public concerns over housing and infrastructure and the economic necessity of migration for workforce stability.
Ruslan Kogan came to Australia with his family in 1989 and is now one of Australia's wealthiest people. ( ABC News: Peter Drought )
Business leaders have their say on Australia's migration rate.
"We employ close to 800 employees and over 45 per cent of them are on visas." — Leora Healthcare co-CEO Esha Oberoi
"Large communities have come in and taken up responsibility for certain trades and they're a really important part of the Australian residential housing industry." — Metricon CEO Brad Duggan
"We think that we've built this amazing, beautiful country. So assimilation is very important." — e-commerce founder Ruslan Kogan
Link copied Share Share article As political pressure mounts for drastic migration cuts, business leaders warn this could result in critical worker shortages in areas ranging from aged care to construction, urging the public debate to shift away from numbers.
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