Call for longer term immigration plan for Australia

Wednesday, 13th of April 2011

Australia should have a five or ten year immigration plan rather than the current annual targets which don’t address concerns about an ageing population and skill shortages, it is claimed.

According to The Property Council of Australia urban congestion, poor infrastructure and high property prices have created concerns about a rapidly growing population and record levels if immigration.

Although immigration levels are falling, mainly due to a decline in the number of students arriving to study in Australia, it is still predicted that the nation’s population could reach 35 million by 2050.

It would diminish the quality and diversity of Australia’s labour force and skills base, thereby reducing national productivity; raise inflationary pressures, lower household incomes and depress savings; and limit our capacity to meet burgeoning social welfare costs in an ageing society, it says.

The council’s submission criticises the government’s piecemeal approach to immigration policy. It must move away from a micro managed, tactical approach to immigration levels to a more strategic focus that aims to increase the quality of Australia’s labour markets and promote an innovative culture, including targeting annual productivity improvements of 2%.

One proposal to boost productivity, the council argues, is to encourage overseas students to stay, thereby maximizing the benefits of flexibility provided by a young, culturally attuned labour force.

Property Council chief executive Peter Verwer said the government should be setting immigration bands for more than just one year out as happens at present.  We should have a five to 10 year horizon.  Immigration will help future proof  the country as our ageing population sees us slip beyond this current demographic sweet spot, which will start to happen as soon as 2014.  It is a powerful tool that will give us the growth to pay for a better standard of living, but to know how many people we need, we need to set a productivity target and other targets in areas like housing, congestion and public transport, he added.

Source: http://www.australiaforum.com/information/immigration