Open Letter
In the past few weeks, the whole world has been following the devastating developments of the war in Ukraine that produced an unprecedented number of refugees in such a short period of time. Images from Kyiv metro stations and the Mariupol hospital raised a question "Can we as a society do more to help?" Let's focus on Australia's response to this question beyond the financial, military and humanitarian aid. We, economists working in Australia and Australian economists abroad, strongly believe that Australian businesses, federal and state governments, as well as the Australian public should be more directly involved in helping Ukrainian refugees arrive in Australia and find economic opportunities here. This will be beneficial for Australia and provide possibilities to reestablish lives for people affected by the war.
While the compassionate case for doing more for people affected by the war is painfully obvious - for Australia's political class, regrettably, it has not been enough. The Australian response to the world-shattering humanitarian catastrophes has historically been underwhelming. We commend the Australian government on a quick response with temporary humanitarian visas, however, more needs to be done. While our personal belief is that the compassionate case is sufficient, in what follows, we present an economic case for a more active role of state and federal government, as well as Australian businesses, in helping Ukrainians find safety and build livelihoods in Australia.
One of the biggest effects of COVID on most developed countries' economies is a labour shortage. Due to the prolonged border closure, the Australian labour market is experiencing a severe scarcity of workers in 2022. The effect of shortages is noticeable across different industries from tradies and hairdressers to programmers and engineers. Even though Australia is opening up, the accumulated backlog in visa processing will take a long time to resolve. Even if a company finds a perfect candidate overseas, it might take more than a year to process all the required documents. Such timing increases uncertainty and means that businesses have to plan their labour market strategy far ahead, which is an unrealistic expectation. The problem with labour shortages will only worsen over time due to the ageing population. Additionally, the growing share of the population in retirement increases demand for aged care services, exacerbating another area of labour deficit.
The Australian government initially committed to speeding up the processing of tourist visas for Ukrainians. This program was mainly suitable for a short-term relocation of people with family or friends connections in Australia. However, on 20 March, the enhanced support package was approved, which completely changed the rules of the game. The new humanitarian visa (subclass 786) allows Ukrainians already in the country to work, access Medicare and education. This program not only targets a broader group of Ukrainians affected by the disaster but also is beneficial for Australia as well.
From a pragmatic perspective, Australian companies should pay more attention to candidates from Ukraine in the current situation. It takes the immigration department just hours to process Ukrainian tourist visa applications and allow people to come to Australia. After these candidates arrive, they can apply for temporary humanitarian visas with the right to work for the next three years. The combination of these three steps for Ukrainians: a tourist visa, a flight to Australia and a humanitarian visa is a real shortcut in the current immigration environment. This could truly be a relief for the post-COVID Australian labour market.
At the same time, Ukraine has a very developed education system with 83% enrollment in tertiary education (according to the UNESCO report), a well-developed IT sector (country’s third-biggest export), and historically strong agriculture (country’s first-biggest export). And while the benefits of the migration in IT are relatively obvious, in the case of Australia, other sectors will experience similar benefits as well. For example, the Australian agricultural sector has been strongly hit by the pandemic and still experiences severe labour shortages partially due to the closed border. This shortage can provide a real challenge during the harvest, limit the fruit and vegetable supply and thus push the rising inflation even higher. The recent military action in Ukraine has already put upward pressure on inflation through the rise of the petrol prices and disruptions in the wheat supply chain. Australia-wide labour shortage only contributes to the problem through the rising cost of products and services.
The majority of Ukrainians fleeing the war are children and women. Some of these women will be well-suited to fill the existing gaps in the proposed areas because they are often highly educated and make up almost 48% of the total labour force. Additionally, many Australian labour shortages exist in historically female-dominated areas. For instance, one out of ten daycare centres cannot legally operate as they do not have enough workers. Age care centres experience a similar problem. Given the large range of skill levels, Ukrainian refugees could fill in positions from providing care to teachers to engineers and IT. Other professions where the Australian government has identified skill shortages and where many Ukrainians will find employment include ICT project managers, optometrists, chefs, software engineers, agricultural scientists, and many other occupations.
The above addresses what businesses can do once the Ukrainian refugees arrive in Australia. Now we consider possible additional actions of the Australian government to increase the intake of refugees. Getting to Australia can be exorbitantly expensive with the costs of air tickets between Sydney and Warsaw (and other Eastern European destinations) ranging between 2,000 and 3,000 AUD. Such a price is prohibitively high for refugees often fleeing their homes with one backpack (the average monthly salary in Ukraine being an equivalent of 600 AUD per month). We suggest that the government and the national carrier devise a strategy to subsidise air tickets and/or provide relocation to Australia for Ukrainians fleeing the war.
Another crucial issue is temporary housing. Before the refugees are able to support themselves, they need a place to live provided to them by the host country. Social and community housing in Australia is stretched beyond capacity at the moment, but there are still ways the government can help. One of the examples might be the “Home for Ukraine” scheme created by the UK government. This policy allows those UK citizens who host Ukrainian refugees in their homes receive a payout of 350 GBP (~600 AUD) per month from the government. Australia should adopt a similar scheme.
Australia accepted 2 million refugees post WWII, which resulted in the economic boom and a transformation of Australian society. The described humanitarian corridor between Ukraine and Australia is likely to produce similar benefits for post-COVID economy. So can we as a society do more to help? Yes! In sum, we call for Australian businesses, governments, and the public to take their part in helping the people of Ukraine fleeing the war and devastation in their country:
We call for businesses to hire more Ukrainian refugees and liaise with local Ukrainian communities to find suitable candidates.
We call for the federal and state governments to subsidise plane tickets for Ukrainians from Europe to Australia as well as temporary housing.
We call for the Australian public to contact their MPs and Premiers and demand Australia does more for the refugees, including the steps outlined above. As we are in the election season, the “servants of the people” might be more responsive than usual.
Finally, while our proposals are developed for Ukrainians, in light of the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Europe, we believe that none of these should be implemented at the expense of other categories of refugees. Australia should become a more welcoming place for anyone fleeing wars, devastation, and oppressive regimes.
The letter is open for signing by economists working in Australia and Australian economists abroad. Please send you signatures to: ausukraineletter-at-gmail.com
Please include your name, your preferred title, and institutional affiliation (for the purpose of identification only).
Signatories:
Dr. Alexandr Akimov, Griffith University, Griffith Business School
Dr. Maxim Ananyev, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research
Prof. Mikhail Anufriev, The University of Technology Sydney, Business School
Dr. Georgy Artemov, The University of Melbourne, Department of Economics
A/Prof. Kadir Atalay, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Dr. Girish Bahal, The University of Western Australia, Business School
Dr. Benjamin Balzer, The University of Technology Sydney, Business School
Ms. Aleksandra Balyanova, The University of New South Wales, Business School
A/Prof. Victoria Baranov, The University of Melbourne, Department of Economics
Prof. Sascha Becker, Monash University, Department of Economics
Dr. Tushar Bharati, The University of Western Australia, Business School
Dr. Oleksii Birulin, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
A/Prof. Gautam Bose, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Prof. Peter Bossaerts, The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Business and Economics
Dr. Frederique Bracoud, The University of Queensland, School of Economics
Prof. Rob Brown, The University of Melbourne, Department of Finance
Dr. James Brugler, The University of Melbourne, Department of Finance
Dr. Anastasia Burkovskaya, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Prof. Lisa Cameron, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research
A/Prof. Juan Carlos Carbajal, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Dr. Simon Chang, University of Western Australia, Business School
A/Prof. Arpita Chatterjee, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Dr. Ishita Chatterjee, University of Western Australia, Business School
Dr. Sang-Wook (Stanley) Cho, The University of New South Wales, Business School
A/Prof. Michael Coelli, The University of Melbourne, Department of Economics
Prof. Carole Comerton-Forde, The University of Melbourne, Department of Finance
A/Prof. Silvio Contessi, Monash University, Department of Banking and Finance
Dr. Diana Contreras Suarez, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research
A/Prof. Kristle Romero Cortés, The University of New South Wales, School of Banking and Finance
Dr. Nicholas Crain, The University of Melbourne, Department of Finance
Dr. Remy Davison, Monash University, School of Social Sciences
Dr. Alexandra de Gendre, The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Business and Economics
Dr. Michele De Nadai, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Prof. John P. de New, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research
Prof. Nicolas de Roos, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Prof. Isabella Dobrescu, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Dr. Valentina Duque, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Prof. Chris Edmond, The University of Melbourne, Department of Economics
Dr. Rebecca Edwards, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Dr. Ryan Edwards, The Australian National University, Crawford School of Public Policy
Prof. Denzil G Fiebig, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Dr. Mario Fiorini, The University of Technology Sydney, Business School
A/Prof. Hayley Fisher, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Prof. Kevin Fox, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Dr. Alastair Fraser, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Dr. Marina Gertsberg, The University of Melbourne, Department of Finance
Prof. Arghya Ghosh, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Dr. Christopher G. Gibbs, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Dr. Esther Mirjam Girsberger, The University of Technology Sydney, Business School
Prof. Jacob Goeree, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Prof. Gabriele Gratton, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Prof. Pauline Grosjean, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Prof. Isa Hafalir, The University of Technology Sydney, Business School
Prof. Richard Holden, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Dr. Xiaolu Hu, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, School of Economics
A/Prof. Jacquelyn Humphrey, The University of Queensland, Business School
Dr. Elif Incekara-Hafalir, The University of Technology Sydney Business School, Economic Discipline Group
A/Prof. Katja Ignatieva, The University of New South Wales, Business School
A/Prof. Michael Jetter, The University of Western Australia
Dr. Hae Won (Henny) Jung, The University of Melbourne, Department of Finance
Dr. Jan Kabátek, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research
Dr. Kenan Kalayci, The University of Queensland, School of Economics
Prof. Guyonne Kalb, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research
A/Prof. Keiichi Kawai, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Dr. Gennadi Kazakevitch, Monash University, Department of Economics
Dr. Patrick Kelly, The University of Melbourne, Department of Finance
Prof. Onur Kesten, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Dr. Stephen Kirchner, University of Sydney, United States Studies Centre
A/Prof. Parvinder Kler, Griffith University, Griffith Business School
A/Prof. Anton Kolotilin, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Dr. László Kónya, The University of Melbourne, Department of Economics
Dr. Inga Kristoffersen, University of Western Australia, Business School
Dr. Simon Kwok, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Dr. Hongyi Li, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Dr. Ian Li, The University of Western Australia, School of Population and Global Health
A/Prof. Sephorah Mangin, The Australian National University, Research School of Economics
A/Prof. Leslie A. Martin, The University of Melbourne, Department of Economics
Dr. Guy Mayraz, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Dr. Susan Mendez, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research
A/Prof. Gordon Menzies, The University of Technology Sydney, Business School
Prof. James Morley, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
A/Prof. Julie Moschion, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research
Prof. Federico Nardari, The University of Melbourne, Department of Finance
Dr. Toan Nguyen, The Australian National University, Crawford School of Public Policy
Dr. Mengheng Li, The University of Technology Sydney Business School, Economic Discipline Group
Prof. Chris O’Donnell, The University of Queensland, School of Economics
Prof. Andreas Ortmann, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Prof. Lionel Page, The University of Queensland, Behavioural and Economic Science Cluster
Dr. Michael Palmer, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics
Prof. Valentyn Panchenko, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Dr. Hoonsuk Park, The University of Melbourne, Department of Finance
A/Prof. Christopher Parsons, The University of Western Australia, Business School
Prof. Carlos Pimienta, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Dr. Kushneel Prakash, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research
Prof. Alison Preston, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics
Prof. John Quiggin, The University of Queensland, School of Economics
Prof. Paul Raschky, Monash University, Department of Economics
Dr. Mark Razhev, Department of Treasury and Finance, State Government of Victoria
Dr. Saphira Rekker, The University of Queensland, Business School
A/Prof. Russell Ross, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Dr. Nicolás Salamanca, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research
Prof. Anthony Scott, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research
Dr. Antonia Settle, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research
Dr. Zhen Shi, The University of Melbourne, Department of Finance
Prof. Peter Siminski, The University of Technology Sydney, Economics Discipline Group
Dr Ahmed Skali, The University of Groningen, Department of Global Economics and Management, The Netherlands
Dr. David Smerdon, The University of Queensland, School of Economics
A/Prof. Vladimir Smirnov, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Dr. Tess Stafford, The University of New South Wales, Business School
A/Prof. Olena Stavrunova, The University of Technology Sydney Business School, Economic Discipline Group
Dr. Katrien Stevens, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Prof. Rodney Strachan, The University of Queensland, School of Economics
A/Prof. John Tang, The University of Melbourne, Department of Economics
Dr. Emil Temnyalov, The University of Technology Sydney, Business School
Dr. Stephen Thornton, BG Economics
Dr. Neda Todorova, Griffith University, Griffith Business School
Dr. Kentaro Tomoeda, The University of Technology Sydney, Business School
Dr. Russell Toth, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Dr. Trong-Anh Trinh, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research
Prof. Garry Twite, The University of Melbourne, Department of Finance
Dr. Vladimir Tyazhelnikov, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Prof. Agnieszka Tymula, The University of Sydney, School of Economics, and ARC Lifecourse Centre of Excellence
Dr. David Ubilava, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Prof. Mehmet Ulubasoglu, Deakin University, Department of Economics
Dr. Lawrence Uren, The University of Melbourne, Department of Economics
Dr. Esperanza Vera-Toscano, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research
A/Prof. Marian Vidal-Fernandez, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Dr. Ekaterina Volkova, The University of Melbourne, Department of Finance
Prof. Andrew Wait, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Dr. Sarah Walker, The University of New South Wales, Business School
A/Prof. Choon Wang, Monash University, Department of Economics
Dr. Mengke Wang, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
A/Prof. Stephen Whelan, The University of Sydney, School of Economics
Prof. Jenny Williams, The University of Melbourne, Department of Economics
Prof. Alan Woodland, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Dr. Tomasz Woźniak, University of Melbourne, Department of Economics
Dr. Pei Cheng Yu, The University of New South Wales, Business School
Prof. Valentin Zelenyuk, The University of Queensland, School of Economics
A/Prof. Jun Zhang, The University of Technology Sydney, Business School
Dr. Federico Zilio, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research