00:01The Coalition has conceded this policy hasn't been formally costed by the Parliamentary
00:07Budget Office.
00:08Instead, we've heard that Angus Taylor's team has worked in conjunction with the PBO
00:14to carry out budget analysis, and that analysis has led to the conclusion that this plan to
00:20slash 650,000 temporary visas over four years would be budget neutral.
00:26The opposition argues that by removing lower skilled and therefore lower paid workers
00:35and replacing them with highly skilled migrants, that the tax revenue generated from that cohort
00:42would offset the loss in lower skilled workers.
00:47Now, budget neutral doesn't necessarily mean economy neutral or workforce neutral, and concerns
00:54have been raised across the business sector that these cuts, which would be the biggest
00:59to migration in Australia's history, could be detrimental to the economy and send much needed
01:06workers back overseas.
01:08The Business Council has said there are unanswered questions about how economic damage would be
01:14avoided.
01:15Master Builders has described the plan as crazy.
01:18We know this is a sector construction that is looking for 140,000 additional tradies to
01:25build the houses that Australia needs.
01:28The university sector, unsurprisingly, has also been critical of the plan, which would include
01:34a complete axing of temporary graduate visas.
01:38That's about 270,000 people currently, with the exception of regional universities.
01:45The sector has pointed to the $40 or $50 billion contribution that international education makes
01:54to the Australian economy on an annual basis.
01:58Now, as part of the offset measure, there is this plan to introduce 100,000 additional skilled
02:06migrants to the country.
02:08The coalition, we understand, is also working on a policy to improve skills recognition.
02:15Currently, in Australia, nearly 50% of skilled migrants are working below their qualification
02:21level.
02:22That has been a problem for three decades.
02:25It covers both sides of politics.
02:27The coalition says it is working on a plan to remedy that.
02:31And where's the discussion at on the aged care sector?
02:35I know I interviewed a representative of a major provider last night, and he was saying he was
02:41concerned this policy could have a devastating impact on his company being able to employ enough
02:48people to keep the centres operating.
02:51Yeah, there have been concerns around the impact to health and aged care, given how much
02:57workers in those industries are from migrant backgrounds.
03:02Now, Angus Taylor told 7.30 last night that some aged care workers would be impacted, particularly
03:08by the cuts to temporary graduate and bridging visas.
03:12He's clarified today that there would be carve-outs, particularly for nursing students and aged care graduates.
03:24So those that are on temporary graduate visas, if they're in aged care or nursing courses, they
03:31will be exempted regardless of location.
03:34So whether they're in the regions or in the cities, here's what he had to say.
03:39They won't be, because we've created transition arrangements and exemption for health and aged care workers as part of the
03:48plan.
03:49And this is important.
03:50This is important to keep in mind.
03:53We recognise where the gaps are.
03:54Now, we're going to have an additional 100,000 skilled visas, which will include people working in those sectors.
04:02And the Coalition expects about a quarter of temporary graduate visa holders, so around 67,000 people, will transition to
04:11a temporary skilled visa eventually.
04:14They will be required to apply for that visa offshore.
04:19So, you know, a nurse who's obtained a qualification in Australia, who's working in aged care, if they do want
04:25to transition to a temporary skilled visa, they would have to leave the country to do so.
04:30This is all part of the Coalition's plan to dramatically reduce migration, and in particular to reduce bridging visas from
04:39414,000 currently down to 20,000.
