Scott Morrison is outspoken on Australian immigration issues.
The opposition’s plans to cut back on Australian visa grants has been criticised by many big businesses in Australia.
The Liberal Party’s Immigration Spokesman Scott Morrison has pledged to cut back on temporary visas issued to immigrants. He has also stated that migration levels are “out of control”.
However many businesses do not share his view that cutting back on temporary Australian visas will help to solve the problem. They argue that they rely on temporary migrants as they often do jobs that local Australian workers are reluctant to fill.
Jaye Radisich, the chief executive of the Council of Small Businesses of Australia criticised his comments saying; “The coalition needs to think very carefully before it announces any radical changes to Australia’s immigration intake. Many small businesses rely heavily on working holiday visa holders to do jobs that many Australians don’t want to do. These include agricultural jobs like fruit picking and pruning.”
Australia remains the top destination for many student backpackers who work their way around Australia on temporary working holiday visas. Many of these backpackers come from the UK and the US.
The Australian Industry Group also entered into the fray with their chief executive Heather Ridout calling Mr Morrison’s comments on an out of control immigration “ridiculous”. She went on to add: “We have a skilled immigration intake that’s been very, very focused. We have to have it because we have massive skills shortages.”
However Mr Morrison later appeared to backtrack saying that his comments do not reflect official Coalition policy. He told ABC’s NewsRadio: “If there is an interpretation out there that this is a wholesale policy, it’s not a wholesale policy,”
If you want to find out more about working and living in Australia then read our guide to Australian visas to find out more about temporary working visas and critical skills lists.
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