THE AUSTRALIAN 04-03-2005
John Howard expressed his support yesterday for a plan for a massive one-year migration rise of 20,000 skilled places, taking the overall intake to about 140,000 in 2005-06 -- the biggest quota in almost 20 years.
"We have an economic need at the moment for more skilled people. You can't generate them out of thin air in Australia," the Prime Minister said. "And if part of the solution to that problem is to bring in more skilled migrants then I am in favour of it."
Such is the demand for skilled workers that the starting salary for mining engineer graduates has almost doubled in the past four years.
John Howard expressed his support yesterday for a plan for a massive one-year migration rise of 20,000 skilled places, taking the overall intake to about 140,000 in 2005-06 -- the biggest quota in almost 20 years.
"We have an economic need at the moment for more skilled people. You can't generate them out of thin air in Australia," the Prime Minister said. "And if part of the solution to that problem is to bring in more skilled migrants then I am in favour of it."
Such is the demand for skilled workers that the starting salary for mining engineer graduates has almost doubled in the past four years.