Business Leaders Say Big Migration Cuts Could Hurt Australia's Workers

Australia is having a big debate about how many migrants should be allowed to move to the country each year. Some politicians want to cut the number of migrants coming in, but many business leaders say that would be a big mistake. They warn that industries like aged care and home building depend on migrant workers to keep running. Without those workers, they say, there would not be enough people to care for the elderly or build new homes.

Right now, the Australian government allows about 185,000 people to move there permanently each year. About 70 percent of those spots go to skilled workers. The net overseas migration — which counts everyone arriving minus everyone leaving — is around 300,000 people per year, but the government expects that number to fall to about 245,000 this financial year.

Different political parties disagree about what the number should be. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson wants to reduce the permanent intake to 130,000 people. The Coalition wants to link migration to how many homes are being built, while the Labor Party has not settled on a final number yet.

Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner thinks a migration rate between 200,000 and 300,000 people per year makes sense. He says migrants help Australia grow in a way that most other developed countries cannot manage through natural population growth alone. He added that no system is perfect, but he believes the current balance is 'probably not too bad.'

Ruslan Kogan is a well-known Australian businessman who was born in Belarus, a country that used to be part of the Soviet Union. He moved to Melbourne with his parents in 1989 when he was a child, and they arrived with just $90. He went on to build several successful online shopping businesses and became very wealthy. Because of his own story, he has strong opinions about how Australia should choose its migrants.

Mr. Kogan does not think the debate should only be about cutting or raising numbers. Instead, he argues Australia should be very careful and 'selective' about which types of migrants it welcomes. He compares it to how a company hires workers — looking at what skills are needed and finding the right people to fill those gaps. 'We want people of certain skill sets ... doctors, engineers, electricians, or scientists,' he said.

He also said it is important that migrants want to become part of Australian society. He used his own family as an example of migrants who worked hard, learned English, and tried to fit in. He said assimilation — the process of becoming part of a new culture — matters a great deal to him.

Esha Oberoi runs a company called Leora Healthcare, which provides aged care and disability services across Australia. She came to Australia from India when she was seven years old and later worked as an aged care worker herself before starting her business in 2008. Her company employs nearly 800 people, and more than 45 percent of them are on working or student visas.

Ms. Oberoi warned that in the next ten years, about 1.5 million Australians over the age of 65 will need aged care services. That will require around 400,000 new aged care workers. She said she does not know how Australia will find enough people to provide that care if migration is cut sharply.

She also described why aged care work is hard to fill with local workers. Workers often do multiple short shifts in a single day, travel between jobs, and earn close to minimum wage. The work is both emotionally and physically demanding, but it is also one of the most important jobs in the country.

Brad Duggan is the CEO of Metricon, Australia's largest residential home builder. He says migrant communities have stepped in to fill key trade roles — like tiling, plastering, and carpentry — that many Australians have not been interested in pursuing. He believes this happened partly because Australian families pushed their children toward university degrees instead of trade careers.

Mr. Duggan said he has been meeting with Australia's housing minister about the issue. He does not believe migrants with skilled trades are taking jobs away from Australians — he sees them as filling a real gap. 'We need more and more of them so we can build more homes,' he said.

Mr. Kogan summed up his view by saying that if Australia brings in migrants with great skills who work hard and pay taxes, most people will stop arguing about the exact numbers. He also suggested that many Australians are frustrated because they feel past governments have not managed migration in the public's best interest. He called for smarter, more careful choices — not simply raising or cutting numbers for political reasons.