REGIONAL MIGRATION STATUS
1270. Hon CHARLES SMITH to the Leader of the House
representing the Premier:
I refer to an article that appeared
in The West Australian of 19 October entitled ''State government
wants more migrants, students'', in which it was stated that the state
government had completed a policy backflip by asking the commonwealth to
reclassify Perth as a regional area so that foreign workers and foreign
students with working rights can move here more easily.
(1) Why is the
state government seeking to bring in more foreign workers and foreign students
with working rights at a time when Western Australia has one of the worst
labour underutilisation rates in the country and wage growth is stagnant?
(2) Does the
state government concede that an increase in the number of foreign workers and
students in a soft labour market will place
further downward pressure on wages and intensify job competition for locals?
(3) Does the
state government concede that an increase in the number of foreign workers and
students will increase pressure on urban infrastructure, services and
congestion?
(4) Does the
state government admit that this policy backflip represents a broken election
promise and a blatant betrayal of Western Australians who are seeking more and
better-paid work?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(4) The
Premier rejects the premise of the question. Attracting more international
students will diversify and grow the state's economy, which in turn
will create employment opportunities for Western Australians. International
education is a key contributor to the Western Australian economy, generating
more than $1.9 billion in export income for the state in 2018. The
international education sector alone supports approximately
14 600 full-time jobs in Western Australia—that is one full-time job
created for every four international
students. International students not only enrich our communities, but also
attract thousands of visiting friends and relatives from overseas. For
the year ending March 2019, Western Australia received 43 000 international
visitors for education purposes, who spent $536 million. On average, these
visitors spend more than seven times per trip more than other international
holiday visitors.