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Go8 Media Release: Fast Track Visa Program a win for the National Economy

November 4, 2019

The Group of Eight (Go8), Australia’s leading research-intensive universities, say the Global Talent Independent Program launched by the Morrison Government today will ensure that Australia remains at the forefront of research and innovation.

Go8 Chief Executive Vicki Thomson said the specialised visa program will attract world leaders in vital fields to make their home, and work far more easily, in Australia.

“This is a much advocated for, important decision from the Morrison Government. Vital discoveries in areas such as machine learning, artificial intelligence and quantum engineering are driving a range of new jobs and new industries that are already shaping economies around the world.

“While Australia is home to some of the world’s leading researchers in these fields – many of whom work within a Go8 university – the reality is that our skill base is too small to take full advantage of these opportunities,” she said.

“We need more specialised experts who can help us foster the development of Australian talent, to ensure that we remain and grow our prosperous society, and with a diverse range of career opportunities. The fastest way to do this, is to welcome more of these highly skilled people to Australia. This is an important initiative to support our capacity to participate in a global economy increasingly dependent on knowledge generation and development.
“Australia has demonstrated a capacity for groundbreaking innovation and discovery as shown through breakthroughs such as Cochlear implants, Gardasil and Elastagen.

“But we can’t take the success for granted. It is critical that we keep supplementing our domestic knowledge base with the best and brightest from overseas. This helps to ensure we remain at the cutting edge. Programs like the global talent independent program help us to target specific individuals with the capacity to help Australia compete with much larger economies like the United States, China and the UK.”

The Go8 was involved in conversations with Government about the need for such a program and is pleased to see it come to fruition.

“We look forward to continuing to work with government on appropriate policies and visa settings to keep us at the forefront of discovery and innovation and which underpin our national prosperity.”

Contact: Vicki Thomson, Group of Eight Chief Executive on +61 438 047 155