Interstate Migration Fails Skills Test
May 21, 2008
The federal government could be better off directing skilled migrants to areas where labour is needed rather than relying on local workers to move interstate to solve skill shortages, Treasury secretary Ken Henry said.
In a speech to the Australian Business Economists yesterday, Dr Henry said net overseas migration had responded more quickly to job opportunities than interstate migration flows.
His comments came after the government boosted the nation’s skilled migrant intake next year by 30 per cent to 133,500. It has said migration will be lifted again to address critical skills shortages.
Dr Henry said Queensland and Western Australia, two states that have been on the hunt for workers as a result of the rising demand for commodity exports, had not been successful in attracting labour from others states - despite the appeal of rising wages.
“In Western Australia, the net inflow of people from other states appears to have increased, but it is still only a small component of total population growth,” Dr Henry said.
“In Queensland, which traditionally had a higher net interstate migration inflow, there has been no step-up in growth in recent years.
“For both Western Australia and Queensland, the net overseas migration inflow, however, does appear to have increased in recent years. This trend is also evident in other states.”
Dr Henry said that the targeting of skilled migration to particular geographical areas of skill shortages may be a more successful approach.
“To date, net overseas migration seems able to respond more quickly to employment opportunities,” he said.
“The immigration program provides mechanisms by which particular skills can be targeted. And it might be easier to encourage immigrants to consider settling in areas where labour is needed that it is to induce an Australian resident to move interstate.”
The director of Monash University’s Centre for Population and Urban Research, Bib Birrell, agreed that there had been little shift in interstate migration, saying that strong demand for certain occupations on the east coast had kept people from moving.
“Why would you move if you’re a construction worker and there’s very strong demand for your services all along the east coast?” he said.-Australian Financial Review, 21 May 2008
