South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has warned against further cuts to Australia’s migration program, describing a political race to reduce migration numbers as “madness” and potentially damaging to the Australian economy.
Speaking at The Sydney Institute’s annual dinner in September, Malinauskas argued that Australia should maintain a “targeted, calibrated, balanced, skills-based, humanitarian, risk-managed system” rather than respond to concerns about housing and living costs by simply reducing migration.
“The correct policy response to Australia’s present economic challenges and the realisation of tomorrow’s economic opportunities is this: above all else, preserve our strong migration program,” Malinauskas said.
“The correct political response to anti-immigration politics and populists is not appeasement.”
He warned that competition between major political parties over who could cut migration the most could have significant economic consequences.
“This isn’t unfortunate. This is madness,” Malinauskas said.
“There could be no greater act of national economic self harm than to slash migration numbers for political purposes.”
His comments come as Australia’s net overseas migration continues to fall from its post-pandemic peak. The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show net overseas migration was 292,100 in the year to March 2026, down from 309,500 in the previous year. (Australian Bureau of Statistics)
Malinauskas argued that Australia’s ageing population made migration an important part of maintaining the workforce and funding public services.
“If the number of people leaving our workforce exceeds the number of people coming into it, our expenses grow, our income falls,” he said.
He also pointed to Treasury modelling on the fiscal contribution of migrants. Treasury’s FIONA model found the 2018–19 permanent migrant cohort was fiscally positive overall, with skilled migrants recording the strongest positive lifetime fiscal impact among the major migration streams. The model attributes fiscal outcomes to factors including migrants’ age at arrival and labour-market performance. (Treasury)
Malinauskas said skilled migrants often arrive in Australia during their working years, allowing them to contribute to the tax base without Australia having borne the full costs of their childhood education and training overseas.
“Skilled visa recipients arrive in their prime working age immediately able to get to work and pay tax,” he said.
The Premier also highlighted migration’s role in addressing labour shortages, particularly in sectors such as health, education, engineering, construction and the trades.
He linked the argument directly to South Australia’s major economic projects, including defence manufacturing, AUKUS-related work, artificial intelligence, data centres, mining and the energy transition.
“All of it will be lost if we don’t have enough people to do the work,” he said.
“We need the workers. We need the workers.”
Malinauskas also defended international education, arguing that Australia should be cautious about policies that substantially reduce the number of international students.
He pointed to the sector’s contribution to Australia’s export economy and the role international education plays in university finances and research.
At the same time, he acknowledged concerns about housing and living standards, arguing that voters should not be dismissed for raising questions about migration.
“People are rightly worried about their economic future,” he said.
“They want their kids to enjoy a better standard of living than what they have.”
Malinauskas said housing pressures were a legitimate concern because population growth increases demand for accommodation, particularly when construction fails to keep pace.
His response, however, was that migration also supplies some of the workers required to build housing and deliver essential services.
“Want more affordable housing? How about some more sparkies, tilers, roofies, concreters and brickies?” he said.
“Want mum and dad to be able to get an aged care bed? How about more ready-to-go, fully trained care workers?”
The Premier rejected arguments that Australians concerned about migration should automatically be characterised as prejudiced, saying economic concerns about housing, wages and living standards were legitimate.
At the same time, he criticised what he described as simplistic political solutions that attribute complex problems to migration alone.
“Can’t buy a house, cut immigration. Stuck in traffic, cut immigration. Hospital emergency department full. Simple. Cut immigration,” he said.
Malinauskas argued instead for better calibration of the migration program, including stronger links between migration, workforce requirements, housing construction and infrastructure.
He also rejected the idea of unlimited or unregulated migration.
“No sensible person is arguing for reckless, undocumented, unregulated, open door migration,” he said.
“No one is arguing for unlimited numbers of arrivals.”
Malinauskas’ intervention comes amid an intensifying national debate over Australia’s migration settings, with the Federal Government pursuing lower migration levels while also seeking to address persistent shortages in parts of the labour market.
The latest ABS data shows Australia’s population increased by 392,700 people in the year to March 2026, with net overseas migration accounting for 292,100 of that increase.
Malinauskas said his position may not be politically popular but argued Australians should hear the economic case for maintaining a strong migration program.
“I know this will not be politically popular in many quarters, and not everyone will agree with my position,” he said.
“I respect that. But nonetheless, people are entitled to hear my position and can judge accordingly.”
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