Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth has refused to say whether tradies should be prioritised over economists and animal trainers under Australia’s skilled migration scheme, despite the country’s housing crisis.
Minister Grilled Over Migration Priorities
The minister was grilled by Sunrise host Nat Barr over the government’s migration priorities on Tuesday and was pressed on why construction workers remain in the same priority tier as a range of other occupations despite Australia’s desperate need for more homes.
Under the current Skilled Migration Scheme, nurses and health professionals are listed in tier one, teachers sit in tier two, while construction trades are ranked in tier three alongside occupations including actors, dancers, economists, animal handlers, and animal trainers.
Rishworth Defends Government Approach
Rishworth defended the government’s approach, saying it had significantly increased the number of construction workers entering Australia. “We’ve had three times increase in the number of construction workers since we’ve come to government taking up those jobs,” she said.
“But importantly, we’re also fast-tracking the recognition of those skills. So not only can those construction workers come here, but they can actually work on construction sites.”
Rishworth said an additional 20,000 people had their skills recognised through the fast-tracking measures, allowing them to begin working sooner.
Direct Answer Avoided
However, when Barr repeatedly asked whether tradies should continue to be ranked alongside occupations such as animal trainers and actors, the minister stopped short of giving a direct answer.
“I want to see more tradies, I want to see more doctors, I want to see more nurses, people that we need, and of course what we’ve had is the opposition play a very sneaky game of talking down our skilled migration, telling us that skilled migration isn’t important but not being clear about who they would cut,” she said.
“What I would say is that when it comes to making sure we’ve got more construction workers in the country, I absolutely support that and I also want to see those skills recognised… so they can get to work quickly.”
Opposition Criticism
Shadow Defence Minister James Patterson accused the government of failing to prioritise the workers Australia needs most during the housing crisis. “Only a Labor government, which is beholden to corrupt unions like the CFMEU, would think, in the middle of our worst-ever housing crisis, that they [animal trainers and actors] are equally important to bring to Australia right now,” he said.
“Labor thinks that we should bring in as many economists and actors as we should bring in sparkies and carpenters and plumbers and other critical trades.”
Union Influence Denied
Rishworth rejected Patterson’s claim that unions were influencing the government’s migration settings, arguing the tier system had not changed since the previous Coalition government. Barr immediately challenged the explanation. “Why not?” she asked. “We’ve got a housing crisis now, so why hasn’t it changed in four years?”
Rishworth again declined to directly address why tradies remain in the same migration priority tier, instead saying the government continues to receive expert advice on skilled occupation lists.
