Immigration

By Stephen Saunders Last Friday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers quietly let slip Australia’s fifth Population statement, in which he and the Treasury constitute public enemy No.

I have frequently maintained that the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported $48 billion in education exports are inflated and vastly overstates the benefits of international students to the Australian economy.

New data from the Department of Education shows that international student enrolments surpassed one million for the first time in the year to September 2024.

The Australian Treasury’s Orwellian Centre for Population released its 2024 Population Statement, which forecast that ongoing high immigration will add 4.1 million residents over the next 10 years—most of whom will live in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth.

The AFR’s Ronald Mizen has published an article describing Australia’s broken ‘skilled’ visa system, which is importing many purportedly skilled workers who end up working in menial jobs such as driving Uber.

Earlier this month, the ANU’s chief immigration propagandist, Alan Gamlen, claimed that “by March 2024, Net Overseas Migration (NOM) had added 31,000 fewer people to the population than it would have if migration had stayed at 2019 levels”.

Last week, I questioned why the population estimates in the Q3 National Accounts were substantially different from the official Q2 population figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) only eight days later.

The Albanese government’s first budget, released in October 2022, forecasts net overseas migration of 470,000 over its first two financial years (2022-23 and 2023-24).

Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black recently lambasted Peter Dutton’s proposal to cut net overseas migration, claiming it would exacerbate skills shortages.

By Stephen Saunders The Migration Hub has excelled in 2024, with misleading takes on immigration policy and numbers.

The latest labour force data for New Zealand showed that filled jobs fell by 0.7% in Q3, the second consecutive quarterly decline.

I expected Thursday’s official population data for Q2 2024 to deliver a strong print. The monthly permanent and long-term arrivals data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) stated that a record volume of net arrivals had landed in Australia in the first 10 months of 2024; albeit volumes have slowed since February.

The Albanese government’s first mini budget in October 2022 forecast net overseas migration (NOM) of 470,000 over the first two years (FY 23 and 24).

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has erred badly by walking back his commitment to reduce Australia’s net overseas migration.

Billionaire property developer Harry Triguboff claims that he has the solution to Australia’s housing crisis: pump our cities full of migrants and then build 50-storey towers to accommodate them.

After previously promising deep migration cuts, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said on Sunday that the Coalition will not set net migration targets until after the federal election, which must be held before 17 May.

Last month, I mentioned that the latest net permanent and long-term arrivals data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed record net arrivals in 2024.

The Climate Change Authority’s (CCA) latest annual progress report has revealed that emissions fell by 3 million tonnes of CO2 over 2023–24, which is a fifth of the 15 million tonnes needed to be cut annually to hit the federal government’s target of emissions falling 43% on 2005 levels by 2030.

Former Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil lamented that Australia’s migration system was too temporary and held the country back.

The federal government’s changes to the Migration Act are set to be passed by parliament after the Coalition agreed to support the reforms.

Newly elected Melbourne Lord Mayor and vocal mass immigration supporter, Nick Reece, believes that he has the solution to Melbourne’s rental crisis and declining economy: more migrants and international students!

Independent Senator David Pocock has called for a Senate inquiry into immigration and population “so we can have a deep, considered conversation about it.

I have argued repeatedly that the purported $48 billion education export figure published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is exaggerated and massively overstates the benefits of international students to the Australian economy.