Peter Dutton Immigration integration more important than numbers

The immigration debate should be based on “who we’re bringing in” and not how many, Peter Dutton says.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has responded to a recent Newspoll which found 56 per cent of Australians believe the existing immigration cap of 190,000 is too high. Picture: Franck Bessiere

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has called for the immigration debate to be centred on “who we’re bringing in” and whether they are integrating, rather than on numbers.

Responding to a recent Newspoll which found 56 per cent of Australians believe the existing immigration cap of 190,000 is too high, Mr Dutton said the numbers had decreased since Labor was in power.

He said the government needed to work on encouraging new arrivals to live in regional areas rather than Melbourne or Sydney to reduce the pressure on infrastructure.

“There are plenty of regions where farmers want the abattoir to remain open so that they can get their beef to market,” Mr Dutton told 2GB.

“They can’t do that because Australians won’t fill those jobs. So we’ve got to get the balance right.

“I think, frankly, the more productive debate is around who we’re bringing in, whether or not they’re the right people, are they integrating? Are they working hard, paying taxes? And nobody begrudges that.

“As long as you bring the right people in, I think that’s the priority and we’ve taken decisions about cutting the numbers back from where they were under Rudd and Gillard, and Bill Shorten, as I say, is proposing to increase the number of refugees that we bring in each year by quite a dramatic number.”

Mr Dutton said he understood there were “sensitivities” around congestion and housing affordability in capital cities.

“But there are economic arguments around the fact we’ve got an ageing population, we want younger people paying taxes, and we’ve got to work on ways in which we can try to encourage people to move out of capital cities to try and revitalise some of those towns.”

‘190,000 is a cap, not a target’: Morrison

Treasurer Scott Morrison defended Australia’s immigration rate, telling the audience at his pre-budget speech to the Australian Business Economists in Sydney this afternoon that 190,000 was a cap, and not a target.

“That was changed by the Prime Minister and I back in 2016,” Mr Morrison said.

“As the previous Immigration Minister, I was aware of the target and cap distinction and was pleased to make that change.

“We are below that cap now — n years prior we were not — 7,000 below it last year.

“Where the number falls below that cap will be a function of demand, but also it will be a function of a tightening up the rules and the system. About half of the people who become permanent residents in this country are already here.”

Mr Morrison said temporary migrants accounted for a large proportion of the perceived increase in immigration.

“Do not forget about tourism and international students, they are big parts of the economy and have been responsible for a lot of the growth we have seen, they are important in the service exports story,” he said.

“We need to consider the impact of seeking to change the trajectory of that.

“We want people to come and leave a contribution, not take one, so as long as you do that, and so long as you keep your borders secure — no-one can challenge we have that — you will see population growth coming out of the migration program making a net contribution.

“You also have to build the roads and schools and hospitals and infrastructure.”