Judy McMahon, owner of Rose Bay harbourside restaurant Catalina, said more than half of her employees were on visas.
Leading Sydney restaurateurs say Australians don’t want to work hospitality jobs, voicing concern the federal government and opposition’s vocal efforts to slash migration and curb foreign students are stifling their industry.
Education Minister Jason Clare has said those policies will stay in place in the absence of student caps.promised an even tougher foreign student crackdown if it wins next year’s federal electionMcMahon said international students working to support themselves filled almost all of her kitchen hand positions while she relied on foreign hospitality students working towards qualifications in her pastry section.
“If you don’t pay people properly, they will move on,” she said. “But hospitality is very hard work: it’s a wonderful job, but you have to love it. I feel so fortunate I’ve got a good retention rate, and we are fairly high profile.” “Australia is a nation that needs a good number of international students and skilled migrants to grow and prosper,” he said. “It’s too easy to hide behind housing supply issue rather than solve it. The federal government needs to accelerate the number of skills visas. We must ensure filling skills shortages is data-driven, not politics driven.”
In the first three months of 2024-25, there were 86,847 study visas issued, Home Affairs data shows – down on 103,519 issued the same time in 2023-24.
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