Yesterday morning on Sunrise, David Koch interviewed Dick Smith about his campaign to reduce Australia’s immigration intake from around 200,000 currently to the historical average of 70,000 people per year (on a non-discriminatory basis and without cutting the humanitarian intake):
However, rather than allowing Dick Smith to make his case, Kochie interrupted continually, all the while demonstrating that he doesn’t have a clue about economics, nor does he believe in limits to growth.
Below are some of Kochie’s major clangers:
Kochie: “The facts are today, Australia is the second richest in the world behind the Swiss, and we are in the middle of a world record run of positive economic growth. We are doing fantastically well”.
Actually Kochie, Australians are the “second richest in the world” because we have one of the world’s most expensive housing markets – hardly a positive. We also have the second highest household debt in the world when measured against GDP.
As to your claim that “we are in the middle of a world record run of positive economic growth“, that record is actually held by Japan. More importantly, when economic growth is measured on a per capita basis, so that it accounts for population growth, Australia has experienced two recessions during this so-called “world record run”:
Moreover, Australia’s per capita GDP growth has fallen sharply since the immigration flood gates were thrown open in the early-2000s:
Back to the interview:
Dick Smith: “So you don’t think there are limits to growth?”.
Kochie: “I think we can be sensible about it. And let’s adjust our immigration policy to technology…”.
Dick Smith: “I’m not anti-immigration. I want it to be… 70,000″…
Kochie “My argument to that is, I don’t know. By 2100, who knows what will be happening. We might be having pills for dinner… I have no idea. That’s what scares me about your argument. You make these claims and they are not based on fact”…
Dick Smith: “Why don’t we discuss a population number… Why doesn’t Australia have a population plan?”.
Kochie: “Okay, I agree, but it should keep constantly changing the whole time”. ..
Dick Smith: “So why is there no plan”?
Kochie: “You can’t predict 80 years out”.
Righto Kochie. So you’ve proven that you are economically illiterate, completely ignoring the collapse in Australia’s per capita GDP growth. You also admit that you “have no idea”. Yet you have the audacity to lambast Dick Smith’s arguments because they are “not based on fact“!
If you bothered to venture outside Sydney’s wealthy inner suburbs, you’d discover a city where traffic is continually gridlocked, public transport is crush-loaded, housing is hideously expensive, and locals are being pushed-out of Sydney by the constant flood of migrants:
Tell me Kochie, how exactly is mass immigration working in favour of your fellow Sydneysiders or the broader Australian community? What’s wrong with returning Australia’s immigration intake back to the long-run average of 70,000 people, in turn easing pressure on our cities and the environment?
Thankfully, Sunrise’s viewers were not impressed with Kochie’s performance, with 1,000-plus commenters ripping him apart on Facebook:
