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Skilled migrants contribute to Australia’s wealth

Issues concerning skilled migrants getting all the local jobs and are living on government welfare has been proven otherwise by a joint research by Treasury and Department of Home Affairs. In fact, the study shows that migration benefits Australia and is projected to have up to a 1% annual average GDP growth from 2020 to 2050. This is because the skilled migrants’ productivity is limiting the impact of the ageing population.

The release of the research has been very timely as it was when the government and Turnbull debates on whether to cut the number of immigrants from the previous annual cap of 190,000.

Despite of the popular opinion of the other officials, Scott Morrison, the treasurer, has always been vocal about the economic benefits of the continuous skilled migration, stressing that cutting the immigration annual cap will affect the employment and wage status of the country.

In the report, it says, “Migrants deliver an economic dividend for Australia due to current policy settings which favour migrants of working age who have skills to contribute to the economy,”.

Amidst the public concern, Morrison and Turnbull agree on having the migration level within the average number.

Overall, it is very likely that skilled migrants contribute more revenue than live on welfare and government support. In fact, a total of net fiscal benefit of $9.7bn over 50 years were projected from the 457 temporary skilled visa program alone.

The report also acknowledges some other relevant issues such as population growth, affecting infrastructure and housing congestion.

However, to gain all the advantages and benefits of immigration and population growth, the government shall continue exploring and resolving the issues at hand because without migration, Australia’s workforce will start decreasing and will affect the country’s economy.

REFERENCE: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/apr/17/migrants-add-to-australias-wealth-government-report-find