Sydney immigration should be controlled quarterly by independent body: MP
A SYDNEY Federal MP has declared migration into the city is “way too high” and needs an independent body to put on the brakes. POLL: How should immigration be controlled?
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
IMMIGRATION would be capped, with the rate revised every quarter, under a proposal by a Sydney federal MP.
Member for Bennelong John Alexander said “migration is way too high” in Sydney, given the city’s existing growth pressures.
Mr Alexander — the chairman of federal Parliament’s infrastructure, cities and transport committee — called for the immigration rate to be set quarterly by an independent body, taking into account the job market, congestion and house prices.
MORE NEWS:
Voodoo Medics: ‘They never gave up’
Hollywood director says Geoffrey Rush has star power of Clint Eastwood
One-tonne saw blade crushes man’s leg
He likened the process to the Reserve Bank’s role in setting interest rates.
“We should control immigration like we control inflation,” he said.
“It should be a facts-based judgment.
Governments shouldn’t look at (immigration intake) in isolation where it can be hijacked by political arguments.””
The Morrison government is preparing a population and migration policy to be released before the end of the year.
It will form a key plank — along with energy — of its re-election pitch.
Mr Alexander’s comments come as new figures on Sydney’s population growth reveal the city is swelling by 10,000 people every 34 days.
The Australian Bureau of Statics data shows in 2015-16 it took 39 days from Sydney to grow by 10,000 people, while in the year prior it took 41 days.
Growth hotspots of the past decade have centred on Botany Bay, Auburn and the suburbs at the base of the Blue Mountains.