Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

I say to the assistant minister that over a million people have come into the country in two years and we've got a housing crisis and a rental crisis. The government is using this figure that 11,000 people have already been brought in to help deal with the skills needed for the construction industry, and especially the housing industry.

Does the minister think, as we're now heading to nearly 1.5 million people coming in over three years, that 11,000 is enough or does the minister think that we need to make sure that we've got additional skilled people to help with this housing crisis and rental crisis, and that we therefore have to find additional pathways to be able to bring in the construction skills that we need? That is why we need to do something urgently to address this issue. Otherwise, the minister is saying that, with 1.5 million people coming to this country—which is a record number we've never seen the likes of—11,000 additional skills in this area is enough. Is that what he's saying or do we need more?

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