Labor minister admits immigration “has provided marginal economic benefit”

Advertisement

Assistant Minister for Immigration, Matt Thistlethwaite, said the quiet part out loud in a recent speech to the Sydney Institute.

Thistlethwaite admitted that over recent decades, Australia’s immigration program has provided minimal economic benefits and lowered liveability in our major capital cities.

“For many decades Australia has not had a migration strategy”, Thistlethwaite said.

The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers

$1 for your first month, then:
Cancel at any time through our billing provider, Stripe
About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.