Australia’s Labour Party, the current opposition party, said it will make immigration reform a key plank in its election policy agenda, vowing to end the nation’s dependence on short-term visa holders and make it easier for foreign workers to become permanent residents. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that opposition immigration spokeswoman Kristina Keneally said the re-opening of Australia’s international borders presented a ‘golden opportunity’ to overhaul the country’s migration system and reduce the reliance on temporary workers to fill skills shortages.

“The economic model that has been developing in Australia is one that relied on a steady stream of temporary low-paid workers. That’s not good for those workers, it’s not good for the economy, and it’s not good for Australians,” Keneally said. Keneally said short-term worker visas had a role to play in Australia but had too often been used by businesses to avoid paying local workers a decent wage and invest in training. She added that Labour wanted to create an immigration system that “favours permanent over temporary, that has more pathways to permanency, that allows people to come here, settle, start businesses, build communities and raise families”. The government last year announced that about 20,000 workers on short-term visas would be given priority access to permanent residency as a reward for staying in Australia during the pandemic.