Why Australia’s permanent migrant intake is grossly understated

Last week, the Albanese government announced that Australia’s permanent migrant intake would be maintained at the historically high level of 185,000.

William Bourke, founder of Sustainable Australia Party, argues that the permanent migrant intake is understated by at least 50,000 for the following reasons:

1. “It does not count the annual permanent Humanitarian Program of around 20,000 (soon to be 27,000), being permanent resettlement for refugees, etc”.
2. “It does not count New Zealanders, who have unlimited rights to permanent residency in Australia under the Trans-Tasman Agreement (TTA). The TTA has produced a post-2000 annual average of around 30,000 net migrants to Australia”.
3. It does not include “Labor’s new Pacific Engagement Visa program, which provides 3,000 further permanent visas per year”.

Together, Bourke argues, these additions “increases Australia’s annual permanent migrant intake by roughly 27% to around 235,000 per annum”.