Housing experts and migrant advocates say tough immigration caps proposed by Opposition Leader Angus Taylor will not fix housing shortages.
In his federal budget reply speech on Thursday night, Mr Taylor said a Coalition Government would cap Australia’s migration intake based on the number of homes constructed each year.
He described the caps as “restoring common sense to housing and migration”, while also pledging to restrict non-citizens from accessing 17 benefits and payments, including the NDIS.
Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre senior researcher Silvia Salazar says the policy is not backed by evidence.
“Most immigrants are here on temporary visas, and they usually share houses with a lot of people,” she says.
“They wouldn’t take the space of one migrant for one house.”
Dr Salazar says the key drivers of the crisis are structural.
“We have to look at land zoning, regulations and how to make the system more flexible,” she says.
“We really need to increase supply and that is one of the biggest issues right now.
“If immigration was the cause, why were we seeing these issues when the borders were closed?”
Australian citizen Chris Poovelil says he’s been a victim of anti-immigration sentiments, including being threatened with physical violence in public.
He says xenophobic attitudes are on the rise.
“Hearing those statements (from Angus Taylor), it’s a bit scary and unsettling,” he says.
“I feel like immigrants are always a scapegoat for these problems”
Chris Poovelil
“It’s just the rich trying to distract the working class and blame it on other working-class people.”
Ramdas Sankaran from the Multicultural Services Centre says migration is essential to Australia’s workforce, particularly in sectors already experiencing shortages.
“You can’t survive without immigration. You need doctors, lawyers, support workers, and health professionals,” he says.
He says restricting migration would create further pressure across the economy instead of easing it.
“If you stop immigrants from coming, the housing situation will become worse,” he says.
Dr Salazar is also questioning the proposal to restrict welfare and NDIS access for non-citizens.
“Even as a permanent resident, you’re paying taxes and contributing to society like any other Australian, so it is in no way fair,” she says.
“Restricting access means telling people in vulnerable situations that they can’t get help because they are not Australian.
Dr Salazar says the proposal reflects broader political attitudes on migration policy and access to social services.
“Why does it matter so much whether you have Australian citizenship on paper?”
