Submission to the Employment White Paper

31 March 2023

Submission to the Employment White Paper, 28 November 2022

Summary of key arguments

• Lower migration is key to building a better-trained and more productive workforce, to boosting incomes and living standards and creating more opportunities for more Australians.
• Lower migration will enrich disadvantaged Australians in the workforce, boost workforce participation of both working-age and older Australians and improve conditions of employment.
• Lower migration also improves productivity through higher capitalisation of workers and less congested and disrupted public infrastructure.
• The oft-cited fear that demographic ageing will constrain the workforce has not eventuated in any ageing country: instead of lower employment, they have lower unemployment and higher participation.
• Many of the calls for high migration come from business lobbies who have publicly campaigned for lower wages and against bargaining power for workers. Their interests are not the national interest.
• Many polls have confirmed that most Australians oppose further population growth.