Australia will welcome more than 200,000 international arrivals into the country, including students, economic migrants and refugees, to boost the economy after the pandemic.
Aside from the few brief weeks of travel bubble action with our Kiwi neighbours and the opening of a similar arrangement with Singapore this past Sunday, Australia has been absolutely starved of large-scale international arrivals.
Expected to be officially announced later today, the measures will coincide with Phase D of our national plan for reopening, unlocked at an 85% vax rate of Aussies aged 16+.
The goals of Phase D, which was announced by Scott Morrison back in July are to…
– Open international borders
– Minimise cases in the community without ongoing restrictions or lockdowns
– Live with COVID-19: management consistent with influenza or other infectious diseases
– Administer boosters as necessary
– Allow uncapped inbound arrivals for all vaccinated persons, without quarantine; and
– Allow uncapped arrivals of non-vaccinated travellers subject to pre-flight and on arrival testing.
The influx of arrivals couldn’t come sooner for a nation currently in the middle of a critical labour shortage. The scarcity of workers has led to calls for higher wages, especially in the hospitality sector where conditions have typically been precarious and rife with wage theft.
Additionally, the boost in students will plug an enormous hole in the university sector. International students remain Australia’s fourth largest export, even during the pandemic.
Migrants will form another portion of these arrivals and will be a timely addition after the Australian Financial Review reported that “200,000 skilled migrants a year is needed to address critical worker shortages and maximise the economic recovery.”
“As our recovery gathers pace, businesses around the country are increasingly in need of skilled workers, whether they be in hospitality, mining, construction, or professional services,” the Prime Minister told reporters.
‘In meetings last week with businesses representing almost every sector of the economy, the most pressing issue raised was workforce shortages and the need to reopen our borders.”
Somehow, I feel like we all knew Phase D would be the fun phase.
