National Press Club: Premier Peter Malinauskas calls for ‘fundamental’ reform of Australian economy and increased refugee intake

Australia must dramatically increase its intake of refugees, Peter Malinauskas has said in an impassioned plea during his first national address.

Australia must triple its intake of refugees and embark on bold economic reform to end “omnipresent” cost-of-living pressures, Premier Peter Malinauskas has declared in his first national address.

Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, Mr Malinauskas made an impassioned plea for the country to significantly increase its annual refugee intake of 13,750 amid the war in Ukraine.

“We should follow the nation-building examples set by leaders like (former prime ministers) Chifley, Fraser and Hawke and show the world our compassion,” he said.

Mr Malinauskas said in the seven years after World War II, Australia accepted nearly 200,000 refugees, and 100,000 Vietnamese people after the Fall of Saigon in 1975.

Premier Peter Malinauskas made an impassioned plea for Australia to increase its refugee intake during an address to the National Press Club in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

“Now compare that to the 13,000 today, I mean, come on,” Mr Malinauskas lamented.

The Premier did not demand a specific number, but when asked if he thought “doubling or tripling” the intake could be easily achieved, he said: “I think so, yes”.

“Well, I don’t think so, I know so,” he said.

He earlier fought back tears while recounting the story of his grandparents’ migration to SA in the “golden era” after World War II.

Mr Malinauskas also declared Australia’s economy must be “fundamentally” reformed to focus on complex industries, rather than relying on coal and iron ore.

“For coal, it’s like having your life savings in a hat manufacturer in 1945 – we’ve got about 15 years to make the most of it,” he said.

“The world is eventually going to stop buying this stuff in a big way.”

Mr Malinauskas said the country must adopt policies based on lifting labour productivity, a key pillar of The Advertiser’s “Building a Bigger, Better SA” campaign.

“Cost-of-living pressures are not new. They have been an omnipresent problem that has suddenly got a lot worst,” Mr Malinauskas said.

Mr Malinauskas urged Australia to embark on major economic reform. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

The Premier said Australia faced a “generational economic question, which can only have a generational educational answer”.

“That’s why in SA, we’re committed to investments in three- and four-year-old preschool that won’t pay off in our economy for decades,” he said.

Mr Malinauskas revived his party’s strongly-held position of merging SA’s universities.

“Every thinking person at home knows we need to at least examine having two universities, not three,” he said.

“No one’s done it. We’re going to do it – and I really hope that we have a federal education minister who can see the opportunity that will create.”

Mr Malinauskas emphatically ruled out a future career in federal politics, as has been speculated by some political commentators.

“I made a very deliberate decision to put my hand up for the people of my state in state politics, and I have not regretted that decision for one moment – so I can rule that out,” he said.

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