Closed international borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a plunge in skilled migration have resulted in a loss of $32 billion (US$22.9 billion) to the Australian economy as 380,000 fewer people had entered the labour force, a new study found. The joint study by RMIT Online and Deloitte Access Economics also pointed out that the Australian economy could have enjoyed an additional growth of $148 billion (US$106 billion) had the pandemic not existed. “The closure of international borders brought Australia’s migration to a virtual standstill and has exacerbated the talent shortage in Australia,” the study released on Feb. 8 showed. It also warned that the impacts from the closure of Australia’s international borders were not a temporary impediment. And if the government did not take any action, the economy would permanently decrease in size compared with what it would have been without the pandemic. “This means that reverting to pre-pandemic trends isn’t enough. …