Aussies in favour of cut in migrants

‘Big Australia’ unpopular

One in two voters want drastic cuts to immigration levels, and a whopping 71 per cent say the country needs no more people.

A survey by The Australian Population Research Institute reveals that people fear more arrivals will push up the ballooning cost of housing, and almost half of respondents say they feel financially insecure.

“Most voters do not support a big Australia,” report coauthor Bob Birrell said.

“Some 49 per cent want a drastic cut, compared with 38 per cent who favour either current levels or ‘somewhat lower levels’. “A decisive 71 per cent said that Australia does not need more people.”

In September 2022, 42 per cent of respondents said they wanted much lower levels or no net increase at all.

The increase comes amid a surge in net migration, which reached 510,000 in 2022-23.

Almost three in four respondents said they believed adding more people would push up the cost of housing.

Immigration levels are expected to hit 375,000 this financial year, before dropping to 250,000 in 2024-25 and to 235,000 in two years time.

The survey of 3000 voters at the end of last year found the cost of living and housing crisis were capable of changing votes at the next federal election.

This was likely to favour the Greens with their radical proposals to solve the shortfall in housing supply making them attractive to young voters.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on Tuesday said immigration had contributed “very significantly” to Australia’s housing problem.

He said the government must find a way to incentivise new supply and help young people into houses.

“When you see young kids who are lining up for a rental property 40, 50 deep, that is because we’ve got huge demand and limited and contracting supply,” he said.

“It kills me that young Australians have lost the dream of home ownership. There are many Australians today who have financial independence and stability in their retirement because of the fact that they’ve had home ownership core to their asset base right through their working life.”

Mr Dutton said it was his party’s top priority.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week reiterated his migration strategy was a “plan to lower the numbers” following a higher than normal influx of students and temporary migrants following Covid border restrictions.

“We recognise that there is a need to increase housing supply and that’s why we have 17 different measures,” he said.