Mid West CCI unsure of how State Government’s 10,000 skilled workers will be distributed

The peak business body for the Mid West says it is unsure on how the region will benefit from State’s skilled migration boost.

On Sunday, the State and Federal governments announced 10,000 skilled migration places for 2024-25, to help ease pressure for industries across WA.

The migration places come under two branches, with 5000 places going to each of the State Nominated Migration Program and the Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA).

However, Mid West Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Joanne Fabling said she wanted more clarity on how the State Government would distribute the places.

“We’ve got to look at all these different things about how the WA state DAMA works,” she said.

“If there’s a split of 50 per cent to the city and 50 per cent to the regions, how do we get to represent ourselves in this?

“We need a lot more information.”

Ms Fabling said the region was facing a shortage of skilled workers, with her own business seeing the impacts.

She said MWCCI had been working on a business case to acquire a DAMA, like other parts of regional WA.

Ms Fabling said it contained specific details about what the Mid West needs, including aged care workers, doctors, drivers, and chefs among others.

However, she said the chamber was yet to receive a response to their application, which was submitted in November last year.

“This (the WA DAMA) seems to have jumped in over the top, and our DAMA seems to be the sacrificial lamb,” Ms Fabling said.

“Businesses have told us what their wants and needs were and then they had to be resampled and resurveyed. This went on over quite a number of months and at a considerable cost too.

“Businesses are hurting a lot and businesses are exhausted, with the cost of doing business rising.

“The devil is going to be in the detail. What we need to know is how the State Government is going to manage the regions from the city.”

Durack MHR Melissa Price has advocated for a Mid West Gascoyne DAMA.

In a statement on Monday, she called on the Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to act.

“It is startling clear that a DAMA is desperately needed in these regions,” Ms Price said.

“It was only last week that I raised the issue of the Midwest Gascoyne DAMA with (the) Immigration Minister, who appeared to be unaware of this new application.

“I call on Minister Giles to provide immediate clarification on what impact the new State DAMA will have on the outcome of the Midwest Gascoyne DAMA’s application.

“We deserve clear, consistent and effective migration policies, not the mass uncertainty created by Labor.”

According to the CCIWA Pulse Report for June, the most in demand skilled workers for the Mid West are electricians, mechanics, and construction workers.