‘Lift iso capacity to restart migration’: Property Council of Australia chief

Scott Morrison is being urged to expand quarantine ­capacity to restart overseas migration, as new data reveals Chinese investment in Australia has significantly fallen.

Property Council of Australia chief executive Ken Morrison said the industry was concerned overseas migration could fall short and result in long-term impacts to the sector. Picture: AFP

Scott Morrison is being urged to rapidly expand quarantine ­capacity so as to restart net overseas migration, as new data reveals Chinese investment in Australia fell by more than 61 per cent last year.

Property Council of Australia chief executive Ken Morrison said the industry was concerned Treasury forecasts outlining the resumption of overseas migration could fall short and trigger a long-running impact on the sector’s prospects.

Mr Morrison said the council wanted the federal government to ­address the long-term economic threat and take action now to ­ensure migration levels resumed as early as possible ahead of pandemic supports, including HomeBuilder, JobKeeper and JobSeeker, winding back next month.

The property sector warning comes as the Australian National University released data revealing the continued slide in Chinese investment in Australia.

ANU East Asian Bureau of Economic Research director Shiro Armstrong said Chinese investment in Australia was about $1bn last year, including real estate ($461m), mining ($414m) and manufacturing ($153m), down from a peak of $16.5bn in 2016.

The 61 per cent drop in ­Chinese investment, which follows a 47 per cent drop in 2019, is the lowest number recorded in the past six years.

Dr Armstrong said 86 per cent of last year’s investment originated from Chinese companies already established within Australia via locally based subsidiaries.

“In 2020, the year of COVID-19, foreign direct investment fell globally by 42 per cent according to the UN.

“UN data is measured differently, but the fall in Chinese investment to Australia was much larger,” Dr Armstrong said.

He said while the pandemic impacted foreign investment, it was also linked to greater scrutiny imposed by the federal government on Chinese investors.

“The UN reports that total foreign investment to Australia fell by 46 per cent, whereas foreign investment to Japan, China, India and some developed countries such as Sweden and Spain rose and investment to the US and the UK plummeted.”

The federal government is working on ramping up border control measures and expanding the skilled migration program ahead of international travel ­potentially resuming before the end of the year.

Mr Morrison said the Reserve Bank of Australia had singled out population growth as one of the nation’s “big economic engines”, which meant restarting net overseas migration “must now be a priority”.

“Any failure or delay to safely upscaling current border arrangements risks blowing out the federal budget’s assumptions and holding back the opportunity to recover from this dual health and economic crisis,” Mr Morrison said.

“This doesn’t mean throwing open the borders next week, but it does mean a plan to steadily increase international arrivals in a COVID-safe way.

“Australia has a unique opportunity to leverage our enviable reputation for pandemic management by targeting talent, business and export income. We can seize this through safely bringing forward the recommencement of migration.”

Property Council of Australia chief executive Ken Morrison said the industry was concerned Treasury forecasts outlining the resumption of overseas migration could fall short and trigger a long-running impact on the sector’s prospects.