Economics says Australia should have negative migration

We should press this logic further. Thirty-five per cent of recent New Zealand-citizen immigrants to Australia were born outside New Zealand. New Zealand can collect students' fees, mint passports, and then grant access to higher Australian wages. Either Wellington tightens citizenship eligibility, or Canberra should restrict the common labour market.

Tackling these issues will be an adjustment, but Canada has walked this road in the middle of a bruising trade war. Since 2024, it has reduced its temporary immigrant population by nearly 600,000. The sky did not fall in: asking rents fell 7.5 per cent, investment rebounded in the June quarter, and real GDP per capita rose 1 per cent even as population fell for a third straight quarter.

Australia should run down the stock of temporary workers, pursue negative net overseas migration for several years before settling on a five-digit intake, not six. But getting there requires slaughtering sacred cows that have grazed, unmolested, through our economic debate.