Home Affairs Minister calls for cybersecurity migration visas

Australia needs to establish a migration sponsorship program in the area of cybersecurity so the country builds its capacity to defend itself from state-based and other players that seek to do harm, the Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security, Clare O’Neil, said on Friday.

O’Neil participated in the Albanese government’s Job Summit and said in a lengthy Twitter thread that a migration program incorporating sponsorship for people with cybersecurity skills is critical.

“We need to think about ways to include sponsorship opportunities for emerging jobs and industries that supports the development of our sovereign capabilities,” O’Neil said.

“We need a future that is Australian-made. One of those critical sovereign capabilities is cybersecurity.”

O’Neil said skills in the cybersecurity area are needed and the current situation represents a good opportunity to “better define and manage cyber skills across the workforce”.

“Unless we have a thriving, diverse cyber skilled workforce, we will continue to suffer the high financial costs that cyber incidents impose on the economy and on us as individuals,” O’Neil said.

The coronavirus pandemic has given the country an opportunity to reform its immigration system, O’Neil said, and that the absence of migration for that period of time of a ban on travel into and out of the country highlighted Australia’s dependency on migration.

“If we are going to keep our economic miracle alive, we’ll need more help.  Of all the challenges we face — immigration isn’t the only answer to them. But it’s part of the answer to every challenge we face and it is the biggest lever we have. And I want Australia to pull it,” O’Neil said.

At the Jobs and Skills Summit, Anthony Albanese flagged the need to rethink the migration process as it has become a complex exercise for individuals to come to the country to live or work.

“For the first time in our history, Australia is not the first choice for the world’s skilled migrants. Those best and brightest minds on the move are instead looking to live in countries like Canada, Germany and Israel,” O’Neil said.

“No wonder, when moving to Australia has become so complex: 70 unique visa programs, each with their own criteria and subcategories; hundreds of labour agreements and multiple skilled occupation lists; an outdated ICT processing system that is not fit for purpose.”

This article was first published by The Mandarin.