Reducing immigration to Australia may improve residents` living standards and housing affordability, but the trade-offs also need to be considered.
Former Prime Minister Albert Abbott has called on Australia to sharply reduce its annual immigration quota from one hundred and ninety thousand to one hundred and ten thousand.
"my focus is not on immigration; it`s about stagnant wages, crippled infrastructure, soaring house prices and, at least, a handful of minority gangs in Melbourne that are testing the police`s resolve at a time when I`m concerned about the number of immigrants." He said in a speech at the Sydney Institute.
"the increase in the supply of labour and the decline in wages is the basic rule of economics, and so is the increase in housing demand, which drives up prices."
Even though Albert was scolded as a bloody dog, could he have been right?
Reasons for reducing immigration
Bob Birrell, a former Monash University professor and head of the Australian Institute of population Research, said the increase in households in Melbourne and Sydney was due in half to net overseas migrants.
"so this is the main factor in the high demand for housing in the two cities, and it is also the main cause of the increase in house prices," he said. Bijur told news.com.au..
"if metropolitan issues are to be addressed (housing affordability, infrastructure pressures, increased cost of living), immigration quotas will have to be significantly reduced."
Net diaspora, however, includes everyone who travels to and from Australia every year, whether they are citizens or immigrants.
Finance Minister Morrison said temporary immigration contributed to population growth, so the government tightened controls on 457 visas and extended the waiting time for migrants to receive benefits.
But Bijur believes Australia can still significantly reduce skilled immigration programs. The high levels of immigration in the past may make sense-to bring in workers during the mining boom, he said, but now many migrants are no longer helping to fill the skills gap.
According to 2015-16 statistics, nearly one hundred and thirty thousand skilled immigrants pour into Australia each year, accounting for a significant portion of the annual quota of one hundred and ninety thousand, while the rest are mostly family-reunited migrants.
"Australia can significantly reduce skilled immigration because so-called skilled immigrants attract only a very small number of people who are really in short supply in Australia." "even if skilled immigration is cut, employers will hardly notice the difference," Bijur said.
In a December 2016 report, Bijur stressed the abuse of IT professionals, engineers and accountants under the visa system. "these days, it`s hard for even Australian graduates to find a job." "the competition brought about by the influx of migrants is part of the problem," Bijur said in the report.
Bijur said it was reasonable for the government to abolish 457 visas in April and replace them with two new temporary skills shortfalls.
Why would cutting immigration do harm?
Finance Minister Morrison rejected Albert`s proposal, saying a big cut in immigration intake would cost the federal budget as much as 5 billion yuan.
Bijur said the potential impact on economic growth is one of the main factors in maintaining a high level of immigration. "Australia`s pride is that our economy has been growing for 26 years." "government doesn`t want to lose growth numbers, and taxes are important," he said. Having extra people to consume is the main driver of GDP. "
Basically, if the population grows, so will the number of homes and other products that cater to the needs of the extra population. This is good for the enterprise, because more products can be produced.
Like Labour, the Unionparty has been keen to maintain overall economic growth, and reducing population growth will slow the trend, Mr. Bijur said.
But he also pointed out that although "nominal economic growth" will slow, but "per capita economic growth" will not. "and the latter is what Australians really care about." "the main benefit of reducing immigration is to reduce the pressure on big cities-so it`s a price," he said.
Another price is the blow to Australian colleges and universities. "the main industry affected by this is the overseas study industry, which will make it less attractive for overseas students to study in Australia because many people just want to use the qualifications of overseas students for permanent residence," he said. Bijur said.
Refugees "can`t bargain."
Bijur also pointed out that the intake of Australian refugees is "no bargaining."
"the humanitarian programme is based on Australia`s obligation to make its due contribution to the international refugee situation," he said.
About 17555 refugees live in Australia each year, excluding one hundred and ninety thousand permanent immigrants. "it`s a duty that can`t really be changed, and it`s an irredeemable part of the immigration program." He said。
