Daniel Wild Discussing Worker Shortages and Immigration on Channel Nine Perth
On April 28, IPA Deputy Executive Director Daniel Wild discussed IPA research on Australia’s worker shortage crisis and the government’s migration review on Channel Nine News Perth with Monika Kos.
Below is a transcript of the interview.
Monika Kos:
Now help wanted signs are plastered everywhere, from pubs to cafes to retail. Employers are having a hard time attracting workers, and it’s prompted the Albanese government to overhaul our immigration system to attract the people with skills we need. But should we be doing more to fill jobs locally? The Deputy Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs thinks so, and he joins us this afternoon. Daniel Wild, why should we be looking in our own backyard first?
Daniel Wild:
Well, we should be looking in our own backyard first because we have tens of thousands of pensioners, veterans, and students across Western Australia who want to get back into the workforce but are not doing so because of the tax and red tape that stops them from doing that. Pensioners, for example, face very unfair financial penalties. If they earn more than just $226 a week, they lose 50 cents in the dollar, and that’s why there are so few that are currently in the workforce. So yes, we are a very welcoming and tolerant nation, and yes, migration plays an important role, but it’s important that we get Australians into jobs first and then look abroad.
Monika Kos:
Pensioners are now allowed to earn an extra $4,000 before it impacts their pension rate, but you say that this doesn’t go far enough.
Daniel Wild:
No, it doesn’t go far enough. Since that reform came in December, the total job vacancies across the nation have come down by just 1%. So this is not far enough. What they’ve done in New Zealand really leads the way. They don’t have any financial penalties on pensioners working. So what that means is a pensioner can earn as much as they want, they don’t lose their welfare payments. Now, of course, they still pay tax on their income like all other workers. But that’s why New Zealand, a quarter of pensioners are working compared with just 3% here in Australia.
Monika Kos:
So do you think we should be following New Zealand?
Daniel Wild:
We should absolutely be following New Zealand. We should remove the unfair financial penalties, and get rid of the bureaucratic red tape that acts as a significant disincentive to pensioners and veterans from getting back into the workforce.
Monika Kos:
We have several viewer comments on this subject, Daniel. Jillian Mercer writes, can’t even house our own citizens yet here we are trying to bring thousands more in. Now, what are your concerns around housing, hospitals, schools, and general infrastructure?
Daniel Wild:
Well, look, it’s a critical point. We need to have the economic and social infrastructure to accommodate more people, and we just don’t have that. I mean, across Perth, the average rent is about $580 a week. So if you’re a student or a part-time worker or earning a low income, you can’t afford that. So we need to have the economic infrastructure, schools, roads, hospitals, and housing built before we’re bringing in migrants. We have about 650,000 that the Albanese government says they want to bring in over the next two years. It’s just not sustainable.
Monika Kos:
Marg Siinmaa says we need builders, can’t get builders in Perth. Two years wait. Deonne Riddle responds we don’t accept certain trades from other countries. We have different building standards. Now, older builders, they may no longer have the strength and the stamina, Daniel, but they can help with training and decision making, can’t they?
Daniel Wild:
Well, absolutely they can. And actually, when you look around Western Australia, the key shortages are in services sector, accommodation, hospitality, healthcare, those are the sectors that are most affected, and those are really the sectors where we can see pensioners and students and veterans get into those jobs. Now, I’m not saying that every single job will be filled by a pensioner or a student. All I’m saying is we should look at here at home first, let’s skill up our own people, remove the disincentives, and then yes, if there are still shortages, then we can look abroad.
Monika Kos:
Julie Wilson is wanting to get back into nursing, but says there are no refresher courses for enrolled nurses. How can we best engage older workers in re-skilling efforts?
Daniel Wild:
Well, it’s a critical question, and I think our political leaders need to show us what to do, implementing reforms to ensure that older workers know where to go, know where to look, and have access to education and upskilling. Unfortunately, the federal government is taking the lazy, short-sighted approach, just saying it’s all too hard, so we’re just going to bring in an even greater number of migrants. Like I said, yes, migrants are a critical part of our national fabric and our history, but we just need to be doing so much more to make sure that our most experienced workers have the opportunity to get back in the workforce if they want to do so.
Monika Kos:
Adam Osborne writes what we should be doing is training more apprentices and paying them what they’re worth.
Daniel Wild:
I completely agree. I mean, one of the big imbalances we have in our society is too many kids going to university, not enough kids going to TAFE or getting hands on skills. And yes, universities are important, but I’m concerned that the pathway to getting trades and getting other practical skills are being closed off to a lot of young Australians. I agree, I think there should be more incentives for school leavers to go into TAFE rather than always thinking that university is the only path forward for them.
Monika Kos:
And finally, a different angle. This question from Jeanie Mellor who asks, why do we presume we are so entitled to welfare as a replacement for working?
Daniel Wild:
Look, it’s a good question. I think we’re lucky as a country to be able to afford to help people out when that they can’t find a job, and that’s important. But I do share the concern that there sometimes is an entitlement mentality that people just expect to be financially supported and are not really putting in the hard yards to find work. So I agree that there is potentially a cultural problem among some young Australians who might not feel the need to work.
Monika Kos:
Daniel Wild from the Institute of Public Affairs, thank you for your time.
This transcript with Daniel Wild talking on Channel Nine from 28 April 2023 has been edited for clarity.
