News flash: minister's 'big, gutsy' migration review will back minister

To recap, the government has just outdone the Coalition, by decreeing the biggest immigration program of all time. 235,000 in net migration (possibly underestimated) and 195,000 in permanent migration. Inducing 1.4% per annum population growth, ongoing.

The 235,000 is about three times Australia's historical average. The 1.4% is around three times what sensible OECD nations are doing.

As usual, this humungous net migration serves to plump up population growth and boost "headline" GDP growth. Which serves to make Treasury look good.

As usual, Home Affairs "permanent" migration is quite misleading. Most of its "outcomes" are already camped onshore. Its numerical focus is anything but, principal applicants freshly entering Australia, to inject scarce and highly paid skills.

Reckless bearings for population policy are firmly reset, for the foreseeable future, whether ordinary Australians like it or not. Mostlythey don't.

At such a juncture, one can only admire the sheer chutzpah, of the Minister's glossy Migration Review, announced 7 November.

Her Terms of Reference take it as read, that mass migration is Always A Good Thing.

"Central to the Australian story…holistic strategy…enrich the economy…complement the skills of Australians…address challenges with [sic] aging population." A Home Affairs algorithm could write this kind of soul-sapping and brain-eating guff. Probably does.

Brags the Minister herself, her review will be "big, gutsy" and asking "big, powerful" questions.

Except, not about the one thing that matters, "population size". That's "contentious". Which is code for, politicians [and vested interests] do as they please.

The Minister repeats her persiflage about "sclerotic" visa processing in the global war for "talent". After the 100-year COVID-19 migration low, the politicians pulled off a near quarter-million net-migration turnaround, in one year. No sclerosis there.

The Minister signals, her review ought to look-over-there at worthy but tame issues. Like Home Affairs' ridiculous proliferation of visa categories. And the absurdly low, income threshold for temporary "skilled" workers.