Treasurer Jim Chalmers says net overseas migration has fallen for seven consecutive quarters and is now 45 per cent below its peak, as the government faces renewed political pressure over population growth and housing demand.
Speaking on ABC Radio National on Monday, Dr Chalmers rejected calls from the Opposition for a reset of migration settings, arguing the government is already bringing numbers down in what he described as a steady and deliberate way.
“Well, we’ve been working methodically, in a considered way to bring net overseas migration down,” he said. “In fact, in the last full year, it was 30,000 people fewer than what was projected. It’s now fallen seven quarters in a row and it’s down 45 per cent below its peak.”
He attributed the earlier surge to decisions taken under the previous government. “We had that big spike towards the end of the Coalition years, where it went up 174 per cent in six months,” he said. “We’ve been working a way to manage that down and we’re doing that in a methodical and a considered way consistent with the national interests.”
The migration debate has intensified amid ongoing concerns about housing supply, rental costs and pressure on infrastructure. Deputy Opposition Leader Jane Hume has called for lower intake levels and higher standards, arguing the system requires a reset.
Asked whether too many people are coming to Australia, Dr Chalmers said the earlier spike was “not sustainable” and required action. “We’ve made it very clear that the spike that we saw towards the end of the Coalition period in office and at the start of our time in office was not sustainable, that we needed to get net overseas migration down, and that’s what we’ve been doing,” he said.
He pointed to budget forecasts that show further declines ahead. “You can see in our forecast in the budget that we expect it to come down further,” he said, adding the government had taken steps including “cracking down on dodgy visas”.
The Treasurer accused the Liberal Party of politicising migration. “I think the Liberals are doing what they always do, chasing One Nation votes by trying to blow this up as a political issue,” he said. “They mismanaged the program. We saw it spike towards the end of their time in office. We’ve been managing it back down since then and that’s why it’s 45 per cent below its peak now.”
Dr Chalmers also addressed calls for changes to the skilled migration system following recommendations from former Treasury Secretary Martin Parkinson. “We do work through those issues,” he said, describing the 2023 review as “a really important report”.
He said the government’s focus was on ensuring the right skills mix while maintaining training as a priority. “To make sure that we’re getting the skills that we need and not as a substitute for training Australians, which is our first priority, but supplementing the workforce where we need to do that,” he said.
The Treasurer’s remarks come as the International Monetary Fund released a review of Australia’s economy, urging broader tax and productivity reforms. Dr Chalmers said the IMF report was largely supportive of the government’s approach.
“It was a very positive report about Australia and about the government’s economic plan,” he said. “It described our budget management as effective. It described our agenda for productivity as bold.”
He acknowledged that the IMF had proposed additional reforms. “As always, there are some ideas in these reports that we agree with, some that we don’t, that we won’t be picking up and running with,” he said.
The Treasurer also confirmed discussions were continuing with the Greens over legislation to increase tax rates on large superannuation balances. “We’ve had some discussions with the Greens in the Senate,” he said. “Those discussions aren’t concluded yet, but I certainly appreciate the constructive way that they are coming at this.”
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