Any debate on migration that starts by targeting a number to cut is starting from the wrong place.
The right starting point is looking at our economic needs and the skills required to deliver them, which will in turn support the living standards of all Australians
We know from the last Intergenerational Report in 2023 that we are facing into significant annual gaps between revenue and expenditure. Indeed, the 2023 IGR projected that this gap may be more than $140 billion each year by 2060.
Rather than increase taxes or debt, the best way to address that gap is by growing the economy, and yet we cannot do that effectively if almost one in three occupations in Australia remains in skills shortage.
Put simply, we cannot grow living standards if we do not attract the skills we need.
Training Australians must remain our first priority. But training alone cannot meet all our workforce needs. Housing construction alone requires an additional 116,700 workers to deliver the homes Australia has committed to building by 2029.
While we agree that the migration program must be focused on the highest performing individuals and that the integrity and operation of the temporary migration system needs to be improved, we are concerned that One Nation’s proposal to cut migration by more than 750,000 people risks holding back economic growth and worsening Australia’s skills shortages.
Australians have legitimate concerns about housing and infrastructure. However, cutting migration will not resolve these concerns, as the fundamental challenge with respect to housing and infrastructure is a lack of supply. If we want to address that challenge, there are still so many levers that can be pulled at all levels of government.