NSW And Victoria Set To Tussle It Out With New PM Over Skilled Worker Shortage

NSW and Victoria will meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese amid a dire shortage in skilled workers.

With education, healthcare and construction among the worst-hit sectors, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet on Thursday, said both states could not afford to delay addressing the worker drought.

“I was speaking with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews last night on this exact issue ... we will be working very closely together with the prime minister to address that, and it needs to be addressed as soon as possible. We can’t wait.”

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With set-backs in visa approvals, Perrottet said he had been told by the NSW Department of Education secretary that overseas workers who had been targeted to fill teacher shortages were being held back.

“They have accredited so many people around the world, but the advice I’m receiving is it will take 18 months for their visa applications to be processed by Home Affairs. That needs to be addressed, and it needs to be addressed quickly,” he said

“We’re in a very different place today than we were two years ago because we didn’t have the shortages that we are seeing in many industries across our state and across our country ... whether that’s in construction, whether it’s in teaching, whether it’s in nursing.”

With strength in numbers, Perrottet said that he and the Victorian premier were “completely on the same page”.

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