New migrants to be forced to live outside Sydney

NEW migrants will be forced to live outside Sydney and Melbourne for up to five years under a federal government plan to ease congestion in the nation’s most populous cities.

URBAN Infrastructure Minister Alan Tudge will today reveal a plan to tackle congestion in Sydney during a major speech to the Menzies Research Centre.

Mr Tudge will outline his blueprint to tackling Sydney and Melbourne’s booming populations and detail plans to place stricter visa conditions on new migrants, including forcing them to live outside Australia’s biggest cities for up to five years.

Migrants will be granted restricted visas to counter growth in Sydney and Melbourne.

The traffic data contradicts a report by the Grattan Institute released last week which argued daily average commute distances for Melburnians had barely increased between 2011 and 2016.

Mr Tudge will say peak delays are getting longer, starting earlier and finishing later.

“But that’s not the end of the story because urban congestion also makes trip times less predictable and reliable,” Mr Tudge said.

“And as we all know, there are many things where you just have to be on time, such as medical appointments, job interviews or picking up the kids from netball training.

“So now you have to leave even earlier to be sure you will be on time, even if this means waiting at the other end.”

Congestion busters... Minister for Cities Alan Tudge and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Mr Tudge, who has been branded by Prime Minister Scott Morrison as “the minister for congestion-busting”, will back a push to send more migrants away from capital cities and into regional areas.

The federal government is keen to act on the congestion pressure facing big cities with its $5 billion promise for a rail line to the airport in Melbourne part of its pitch.

Mr Tudge will today say more needs to be done to address commute times in the city, with the average 30-kilometre journey now taking almost an hour.

“Ten years ago, to ensure you made it on time 90 per cent of the time, you had to leave 8 minutes earlier,” Mr Tudge said.

“Today, you would need to leave 15 minutes earlier for every trip.

“And keep in mind this is average congestion, not the worst.”