Budget: population porkies for Big Australia

Fib: Big immigration fixes "skill" shortages

Albanese is the sixth prime minister to back John Howard's fateful Big Australia pivot of 2005.

Nodding to local training "failure", Kim Beazley Labor had supported Howard. Now it's Albanese, touting the "skill shortages". While mass migration, bluffs Treasury, "complements" local training.

High-value recruits aren't really Australia's topmost immigration thing. The income threshold for temporary "skilled" migration is $53,900. We just lowered the qualifications threshold for permanent migrants.

In 2020-21, principal applicants in "Skilled" Stream contributed about a quarter of permanent migration "outcomes". Outnumbered by Family Stream plus Skilled Stream dependants. Even for 2022-23, "skilled" principals will be less than half of total.

Most permanent "outcomes" are already onshore. Upgrading temporary visas. With international students returning en masse, this lurk will continue.

Clare O'Neil propagandises high-end permanent migrants supplanting guest workers. Treasury craves raw population growth to eke out smallish GDP growth.

Fib: We must urgently rectify visa "backlogs"

Like, COVID "cost" two years peak migration. Can't let Canada win the global talent "war".

Labor inherited a "backlog" of nearly a million visa applications . Begs the question, who or why let Mike Pezzullo mushroom the queue, to a staggering 4% of population?

Even with antiquated systems, wouldn't you closely manage applications load, under COVID? Or shutter applications windows? Are we or the United Nations (UN) in charge?

Morrison's backlog teed up Albanese's blitzkrieg. You really want backlogs minimised? Don't do mass migration. Backlog hype typecasts Australia as an immigration pushover.