Migration numbers should be linked directly to housing construction, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor says, arguing that Australia’s immigration programme risks losing public support if population growth continues to outpace the supply of homes.
Speaking during an online briefing with multicultural media organised by Liberal Senator Dave Sharma, Taylor outlined the Coalition’s economic priorities, focusing heavily on housing affordability, migration settings and support for small business. While much of the discussion centred on the Coalition’s opposition to Labor’s proposed tax changes, questions from multicultural journalists repeatedly returned to housing and migration, issues that have become increasingly important within Australia’s migrant communities.
The exchange highlighted a balancing act facing both major parties. Australia remains heavily reliant on skilled migrants to fill shortages across healthcare, technology, construction and other sectors. At the same time, rents and house prices continue to climb in many parts of the country, fuelling concerns that infrastructure and housing supply are struggling to keep pace with population growth.
That tension was put directly to Taylor when The Indian Sun asked how the Coalition planned to reduce migration without worsening skill shortages or slowing economic growth.
“What we’re talking about here, we are not in the One Nation migration world where migration should be stopped at all,” Taylor replied.
“As Liberals, that’s not what we believe. We do believe that migration and housing supply/construction should be aligned. This is very, very important.”
Taylor said Australia remained “a great immigrant nation” and pointed to his own upbringing in regional New South Wales, where migrant communities had helped shape local economies and society.
“My family, as farmers, were always very supportive of our immigration policies,” he said.
“But the numbers have got to be sustainable, and that means being in line with housing construction.”
The comments reflect a growing and often polarising debate about how Australia should manage migration after a period of exceptionally strong population growth. Net overseas migration surged following the pandemic reopening, reaching levels well above historical averages and contributing to record demand for rental accommodation.
Taylor argued that the Coalition’s position differs from calls for sharp migration cuts because it seeks to maintain skilled migration while linking intake levels more closely to the country’s ability to house new arrivals.
“We’ve got to get our housing construction supply up, but we’ve also got to make sure our migration numbers are in line with that. They haven’t been,” he said.
“I think this has put under threat the strength of our historical immigration policies in this country.”
The Opposition Leader rejected suggestions that reducing migration would inevitably worsen workforce shortages. Instead, he argued that Australia’s migration programme should become more targeted.
“We were always able to get the skills we needed when we were in government with numbers closer to 200,000, not the 500,000 that we’ve seen under Labor,” he said.
“The reason is because Labor’s immigration programmes haven’t focused on targeting the skills we really need.”
Taylor claimed skilled migration settings had drifted away from labour market requirements and said future programs should focus more directly on occupations experiencing genuine shortages.
When asked whether the Coalition had a specific migration cap in mind, Taylor declined to nominate a figure, insisting that housing supply would determine the eventual number.
“The challenge is that the answer depends on housing,” he said.
“I think the cap on immigration has to be based on housing. We just can’t have a situation where housing and immigration are out of line.”
The comments came as Taylor repeatedly returned to housing affordability throughout the briefing, describing it as one of Australia’s defining economic challenges.
On rising rents and home prices, Taylor argued that increasing supply remained the central solution.
“We know it’s very simple economics: if you have more houses, the cost of housing will fall. But we have to build more,” he said.
He criticised Labor’s housing delivery record, arguing that the government was falling well short of its own construction targets. He also pointed to planning regulations and construction costs as barriers to new housing supply.
“The National Construction Code is now 2,000 pages long, adding up to $70,000 to the cost of building a house,” he said.
Housing pressures have become particularly acute in areas with large migrant populations. According to CoreLogic data, rents across major Australian cities have risen sharply since the pandemic, while vacancy rates remain near historic lows in several markets. New migrants often feel these pressures first, particularly those arriving without established family networks or property ownership.
Taylor suggested that aligning migration settings with housing supply would help preserve public confidence in Australia’s immigration system.
His remarks echoed similar discussions occurring internationally. Canada recently announced measures designed to moderate temporary and permanent migration flows after housing shortages became a dominant political issue. Taylor referenced Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s approach during the briefing.
“The country that’s done this in the last little while that I think has been working well is Canada,” he said.
“They’ve actually brought those two things into line.”
Taylor pointed to Canada as an example of a country attempting to better align migration levels with housing capacity. He said recent Canadian measures had brought population growth and housing supply into closer balance, arguing Australia should pursue a similar approach to maintain support for its immigration programme
The conversation eventually turned from economics to aspiration. Asked what Australia might look like in a decade if the Coalition’s economic vision succeeded, Taylor described an Australia where home ownership and business creation were once again within reach for ordinary families.
“I want an Australia where aspirational Australians, Australian families, who I think have been finding it harder and harder to make ends meet, to start businesses, to buy homes, to build wealth, I want to see that hope back,” he said.
Taylor reflected on the post-war migrant communities that settled in regional Australia, saying many arrived with the ambition of owning a home, raising a family and building a better future.
“They were aspirational, ambitious. They wanted to own their home, they wanted to raise a family, and that hope was always there because so many were able to achieve it,” he said.
“We’ve got to bring that back.”
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