Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. With Australians facing record net overseas migration of 715,000 people over the next two years, why is there no plan to address the further pressure this will put on costs of living, with increased rents, a worsening housing crisis, longer hospital wait times and increased congestion in capital cities? How much will Australians pay for Labor's big Australia policy?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, that was worth waiting for! On that, I make four points: (1) those opposite are opposed to increasing the supply of housing, which is in the Senate at the moment under the Housing Australia Future Fund; (2) migration numbers that they projected before the pandemic would have seen a higher population today than is now present. That's the second point.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Wannon has asked his question.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The third point is that there was a pandemic. In areas such as education, which is a great asset to Australia, a great export that we have, our largest services export, we used to have, say, 100,000 students come in and 100,000 students finish their university degree and then leave. Because of the pandemic, we've had people coming but not going yet. Hence, you have a spike in numbers there.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Wannon has asked his question and will cease interjecting.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Four, I commend to the shadow minister our migration plan, announced by the minister at the National Press Club. He should have come along; next time, I'll shout him a ticket. We had minister after minister in the last fortnight standing up at the National Press Club talking about directions—

Opposition members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Bendigo will cease interjecting. The member for Wannon on a point of order.

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The 715,000 net overseas migration number—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Wannon has been here long enough to know that is an abuse of standing orders. You don't simply get up to the dispatch box and start speaking. He has done it before. If he does it again, he'll be asked to leave the chamber.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To be fair, it's been a while since he got a question! I commend the shadow minister to have a read of the magnificent speech by the Minister for Home Affairs outlining why Australia's over-reliance on temporary migration by those opposite is not in Australia's national interests, outlining why it is in Australia's national interests to get the right migrants in the right places in order to help our economy. As the minister said, if you look at the plan, it's certainly not about an increase. It's about getting the right mix of migration, as the minister said on page 1 of the paper!