“New ABS data shows the federal government is treating Australians like fools, as the latest record migration intake reveals it has no intention of keeping its promise to curb arrival levels, which is making Australians poorer,” said Daniel Wild, Deputy Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs.
Australian Bureau of Statistics’ overseas arrivals and departures data for August 2024, released today, indicates net migration will continue to stay elevated well into the 2025 financial year:
- Net permanent and long-term arrivals from January to August 2024 was 356,940. This is the highest August year-to-date on record, above the previous record set in 2023, which was 352,060.
- This means the federal government is on track to bring in well over another half a million migrants this year, which would bring the total intake in its term of office to well over 1.5 million.
- Net permanent and long-term arrivals in the 12 months to August 2024 was also the highest on record, at 452,670 net arrivals. This was 9 per cent higher than the previous record set in 2023.
- Housing approvals for the month of August, at 13,991, was 6 per cent lower than the previous month’s – and amount to only 59 per cent the number of net permanent and long-term arrivals for the corresponding period (at 23,780 arrivals in August 2024).
“The federal government’s out-of-control migration intake continues to be one of the most significant social and economic failures in Australia’s history,” said Mr Wild.
“These record level of intakes have not been planned for, are unsustainable, and have fuelled the perfect storm of high inflation, declining household incomes, and ever-higher house prices and rents.”
Today’s statistics, follows data confirming Gross Domestic Product per capita has declined for six quarters in a row, the longest decline since data collection began in 1973.
“There have been more quarters of negative GDP per capita under the Albanese government than any other federal government. The Prime Minister’s inability to reign in Australia’s unsustainable migration intake is making Australians poorer, faster than any other time on record,” said Mr Wild.
“The number of new dwelling approvals remains drastically lower than the number of new arrivals alone, meaning the great Australian dream of owning a home is being denied to the next generation of Australians and new arrivals alike,” said Mr Wild.
Last month, the Productivity Commission’s latest Quarterly Productivity Bulletin, confirmed a decline in labour productivity of 0.8 per cent in the June 2024 quarter. This followed a measly increase of 0.5 per cent over the 12 months to June 2024, after a dramatic 3.7 per cent decline in the previous financial year.
“The federal government’s strategy of relying on population growth to maintain any semblance of economic growth on paper, at the cost of productivity growth, is unsustainable and detrimental to the wellbeing of Australian families,” said Mr Wild.
“Australians, on an individual basis, are in recession and they continue to get poorer as our society becomes more fractured and divided. Yet, it is clear the federal government has no intention of reining in Australia’s unsustainable migration intake.”
“Australia is a welcoming country, and migration has played a critical role in our nation’s history, but it must be planned for, have the consent of the community, and be targeted toward economic need. On this, the federal government has failed on all three counts,” said Mr Wild.
To download the IPA’s previous research click here.
