Scott Morrison wants to know from NSW Premier how many migrants can call NSW home

Scott Morrison has pushed Premier Gladys Berejiklian to explain how her plan to halve migration will impact employment, housing and “social cohesion” over the next decade. He has given her a deadline to say precisely how many foreigners can call NSW home.

• Population growth in suburbs driven by immigration
• Berejiklian defends plans to halve NSW migration

Scott Morrison has pushed Premier Gladys Berejiklian to explain how her plan to halve migration will impact employment, housing and “social cohesion” over the next decade.

The Prime Minister has given Ms Berejiklian a January 31 deadline to say precisely how many foreigners can call NSW home, with the issue set to be top of the COAG agenda when he meets with all state premiers in Adelaide tomorrow.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants to know how many migrants can call NSW home. Picture: AAP Image/Courtney Hewett

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has until January 31 to advise the Prime Minister. Picture: Adam Yip

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As Mr Morrison finalises Australia’s population policy, The Daily Telegraph can reveal he has also asked Ms Berejiklian to consider a region-based approach and also advise him, region-by-region, what businesses NSW will need over the next 15 years.

She has so far not publicly addressed any regional approach to population.

“We need to carefully manage population growth to protect the quality of life enjoyed by all Australians,” Mr Morrison said.

“This means working to avoid congestion in our major cities while supporting the growth of regional areas, where it is important to maintain and expand service delivery and create more jobs.”

At the PM’s request, Ms Berejiklian will also need to assess the role of temporary and permanent migration as well as by visa class, such as skilled, humanitarian and family.

The migration plans will take into account easing congestion in major cities but also supporting regional areas.

The Daily Telegraph revealed in October Ms Berejiklian has appointed a panel of experts to review the state’s migration strategy. At COAG, the Prime Minister’s focus will be on urging the premiers to fix the population problem together.

“You need to work solutions from the ground up — not top down from Canberra,” he said.

He will say states must consider investment in infrastructure and services as well as migration laws when looking at a national population strategy.