SYDNEY: Australia recorded a decline in net migration last year, official figures showed on Thursday, as the centre-left government moves to balance labour needs with growing political pressure over housing shortages and rising living costs.
Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that net overseas migration added 301,000 people to the country’s population of around 28 million. The figure represents a nine per cent decrease compared with the previous year and is 45 per cent lower than the post-pandemic peak recorded in 2023.
Net Migration down 43% in three years.
Population growth down. Albanese entered office with population growth at 2.5% now 1.5%
Australia has lowered immigration more than Canada and is working towards sustainable levels.
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Immigration Minister Tony Burke said the government was adopting a “sensible, measured approach” to reduce migration while still meeting demand for skilled labour.
“We are bringing migration down with a sensible, measured approach to provide the skilled workers Australia needs,” Burke said, adding that international student numbers were being reduced in favour of skilled migration, particularly in sectors such as healthcare and aged care.
He said the policy shift aimed to ensure sufficient workforce support “to care for our sick and elderly and build homes”.
The Labor government has also outlined plans to increase housing supply and ease affordability pressures through tax and structural reforms, as migration continues to remain a politically sensitive issue.
Meanwhile, far-right political forces have gained momentum, with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party emerging as the country’s most popular political group this year, according to recent polling trends.
Australia shift toward monocultural
Hanson has seized on elevated migration levels following the reopening of borders after the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that high intake has exacerbated housing shortages.
Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, she called for Australia to move towards “monoculturalism”, sharply criticising multicultural policy and the political establishment.
“Australians aren’t buying this nonsense from the political establishment and its media supporters anymore,” she said.
The opposition Liberal Party of Austrailia, which has also been losing ground to One Nation, described the current migration level as “still far too high”, underscoring continuing political divisions over immigration policy.
