South Australia's governor, Marshall (Stephen Marshall), and Prime Minister Mosuisse (Scott Morrison) signed an immigration agreement in February that not only relaxed the age and English language limits for migrant workers abroad, but also allowed employers to pay 10 percent less. The details of the agreement were criticized after it was made public.
According to the South Australia Advertising newspaper, the (DAMA) signed between South Australia and the Federal government is part of South Australia's government's drive to boost South Australia's population growth and address the shortage of skilled workers in remote parts of the state.
South Australia's government has been reluctant to disclose details of the deal. South Australia's parliament Commission of Inquiry recently heard about the situation. After the meeting, South Australia's opposition party leader, Marina Scousse (Peter Malinauskas), said it was clear why government had kept the details of the agreement secret.
Under the agreement, expatriates living in remote areas of South Australia will earn 10 percent less than the standard A $53900 annual salary for skilled immigrants. Maliescas pointed out that the move will greatly increase the difficulty of finding jobs for local residents in South Australia.
He said the deal, signed by Marshall, would put remote residents at a disadvantage in competing for jobs with overseas migrants. He said that if the governor did want to attract more immigrants to South Australia, he said, they should be guaranteed a unified national standard salary, rather than signing a deal to depress their salary.
In response to questions, Chandler (Nari Chandler), director of strategy, policy and immigration at the South Australia Office of Innovation and skills Affairs, said that under this agreement, skilled immigrants with different occupations will enjoy different policy preferences. But a 10 percent pay cut is generally applicable, a reflection of wage levels and living consumption levels in remote areas.
The agreement will also appropriately relax the English language requirements for skilled migrants, she said, and even relax the age limit for migrants from 44 to 50.
In response to questions about the deal, the governor said it was a significant deal for South Australia that would effectively close the state-wide talent gap and address the mess left by Labour.
South Australian Chamber of Commerce (Business SA), real estate Committee (Property Council), business leaders and remote mayors both welcomed Marshall's move to proactively address the shortage of skilled people in remote areas.
