More training for locals, not more migrants

Published on 16 August 2022

On the weekend the Federal Government announced it would lift the migrant intake to 200,000 migrants per year to deal with workforce shortages. I am calling on the Federal Government to rethink this decision and instead look after the current residents first. 

Most of south west Sydney has unemployment rates of 10% or more, 10.6% in Fairfield City which is more than twice the Greater Sydney average of 4.7% and three times the national average of 3.5%. The average wage in south west Sydney is $620, almost $200 a week less than the NSW and Australian average. 

While Australia is enjoying low unemployment rates while south west Sydney is experiencing high unemployment, underemployment and needs more education and training opportunities to upskill the community. 

Bringing in more migrants will increase the cost of living pressure significantly including rent and housing affordability and housing availability. It will also put significant pressure on the hospital system and we have not seen an upgrade at Fairfield Hospital since it was built more than 30 years ago. 

With the rise of interest rates, this will slow down the economy and lead to the unemployment rate increasing in Australia and the most vulnerable will be hit the hardest. 

I urge the Government to not turn their back on high levels of unemployment currently in many parts of Australia including south west Sydney. Residents should not be competing for higher paid jobs and suffering from the cost of living pressures that a 200,000 migrant intake would cause. 

The Government should be focusing on upskilling current residents in areas of high unemployment. Some areas that are seeing unemployment shortages are administration and support, hospitality, household trade and real estate. 

I also urge the Federal Government to engage with south western Sydney leaders in relation to the job skills summit. We are the ones who understand the local issues and represent the community. The jobs summit should have prioritised the issue of traineeships and upskill of current residents rather than the priority being increasing migrant intake numbers. 

I will continue to look after the community and people in south western Sydney first and fight to ensure they have access to training, education and work opportunities for a better future.