PM mulls immigrant cut

SCOTT Morrison is considering slashing immigration numbers to prevent overcrowding in Australia’s biggest cities.

The Prime Minister said community sentiment was in favour of cutting numbers in Sydney and Melbourne.

“The roads are clogged, the buses and trains are full. The schools are taking no more enrolments. I hear what you are saying. I hear you loud and clear,” he said at the Bradfield Oration in Sydney on Monday night. “We have become, especially in Sydney and Melbourne, a victim of our success.”

Any changes could see Australia’s immigration cap of 190,000 cut by up to 30,000.

There were about 160,000 permanent visas approved last year. Mr Morrison wants state and territory leaders to bring their population strategies to the next Council of Australian Governments meeting next month. Population Minister Alan Tudge said the Government would ask states and territories how many people can fit in their cities.

He anticipates South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory will push to have more migrants.

“It’s not a one size fits all,” Mr Tudge told ABC TV yesterday.

“We want to support the aspirations and the capacity of each of those states to grow so we can support the growth in some of the smaller states.”