THE Government should seriously consider negotiating with Australia to supply skilled workers, says the Melanesian Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber’s president Gabriel Miriye said skilled labour, as a resource, was an untapped “sleeping giant”.
Exporting manpower would bring in foreign currency to the reserves, he said.
Mr Miriye’s call follows reports in the Western Australian premier Alan Carpenter was trying to have arrangements with the Australian federal government to relax its laws regarding its import of skilled labourers.
“Western Australia (WA) will push for a bilateral agreement between WA and the Commonwealth for a more flexible approach to skills immigration,” Mr Carpenter said.
“Billions of dollars in resource projects planned for WA could be lost or delayed if existing skills and labour shortages were not addressed,” he said.
He said developing a new funding model between the Commonwealth and Australian states to address disadvantages to WA under the present arrangement was a top priority.
Chronic skills shortages were threatening resource-rich Western Australia’s development creating opportunities for recruitment firms to look to countries including Papua New Guinea.
Western Australian recruitment firm, Millennium Card, has seized the opportunity and entered into a deal with Lae-based Melanesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to recruit skilled workers from PNG to meet the demand in WA.
It had received applications from over 1,000 skilled workers nationwide.
Millennium Card directors Alan Bodger and David Phillips were expected in the country this month to evaluate and interview successful applicants.