The Albanese government has confirmed its plans to reduce net overseas migration “down quite considerably” ahead of the federal budget.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers told Sky News Sunday Agenda that the move was deliberate and part of a broader strategy to manage the country’s immigration responsibly.
Mr Chalmers said that recent migration figures showed a cooling trend, following a post-pandemic surge.
“We are managing the net overseas migration numbers down quite considerably,” Mr Chalmers said.
“There was a spike in net overseas migration after COVID, students, tourists and the like, and fewer departures… We’ve been steadily managing that down.”
The Treasurer pointed to the latest migration figures which he said revealed 10,000 fewer arrivals than anticipated.
The government’s budget, which will be presented on Tuesday, is expected to update these forecasts, with a direction towards a reduced migration trajectory.
“The budget will update all of those forecasts, but what they will show overall is the trajectory is down. That’s deliberate,” he said.
“Overall, we’re managing the programme down. We’re doing that in a considered and methodical way.”
The country’s population grew by 484,000 or 1.8 per cent in the 12 months before September 30, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has said he wants to cut migration by 25 per cent over two years, but he has yet to release his net immigration target.
Despite this, shadow finance minister Jane Hume warned that the government has “failed to manage their borders (and) to manage their migration policy”.
“The most important job of a government is to keep the economy strong and keep its citizens safe,” she told Sunday Agenda.
“This is a priority for a Dutton-led Coalition government. And that shouldn’t come as a surprise.”
The opposition has warned voters that migration could “hit two million in total” if Prime Minister Anthony Albanese remains in power.
Mr Dutton previously set a target of 160,000 net migrants under a future Coalition government, but recently backtracked citing the need to assess economic conditions.
He has since committed to reduce the annual number of permanent visas from 185,000 to 140,000 for two years before a slight rise.
“We propose to reduce that for the first year, ramp it back up by year four to 160,000,” Mr Dutton said recently.
The Coalition has also made a commitment to reduce the humanitarian intake from 20,000 to 13,750 per year.
