CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Ms STEGGALL (Warringah) (09:54): As the government announces its migration plan today, we must get the foundations right. I support a well-managed migration program tailored to Australia's needs. We must maintain humanitarian visas for vulnerable and displaced people, giving them a fair opportunity to work and contribute here.

Research has put migrants at nearly a third of Australia's labour force. For Warringah's small businesses, migration brings skills, experience and enterprise that help our local economy thrive. Skilled migrants can keep a restaurant's kitchen running, help a building business to take on another project or enable a care provider to meet demand.

Every thousand migrants generates around $124 million in economic output annually. Migrants are vital to building the homes and infrastructure Australia needs, and they make up around 35 per cent of the aged-care workforce and 37 per cent of the disability workforce, while around 30 per cent of Australia's doctors were trained overseas. When businesses cannot find Australians to fill essential roles they need to recruit from overseas.

Access to those workers helps businesses expand and creates opportunities for local workers. Migrants also establish businesses, investing in our community, employing Australians and adding to the diversity of our shops and services. Small businesses need a system that responds to genuine skill shortages and helps retain experienced workers.

That means accessible visa pathways, proportionate fees and timely decisions. Supporting migration and investing in local skills work together. Both help small businesses grow.

The government must make migration processes simpler and more predictable for small employers. One-to-one comparisons between migrant arrivals and new homes are misleading and populist. The 2021 census recorded 2.5 people per household.

Migration does add to housing demand, but scapegoating migrants for the housing crisis is wrong and will not build the homes we need. Australians bringing their partners and family members home also deserve fairness. Partner visa fees rose by 25 per cent to $11,710 in July, before medical and other costs.

Migration practitioners report waits reaching 40 months for the temporary onshore stage alone. These delays impose emotional and financial strain on couples. The government must review fees.

It must simplify evidence requirements and deliver timely decisions. The current delays are simply unacceptable. Of course we must maintain the proportionate checks, but businesses and Australians are being put through an absolutely undue process too often.

Australians should not have to choose between the person they love and the country they call home.