House debates
Thursday, 11 May 2023
Questions without Notice
Budget: Infrastructure
3:09 pm
Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source
I thank whoever suggested that they give me a question on infrastructure! I thank them very much—whoever the member of the tactics committee was who put that forward.
We've already said that, on the issue of migration: in 2019, they were in government, and their projections, of course, when they were in government were for higher migration than we have today—higher numbers. That is the fact.
One of the things that have happened is—I will go through one example, really clearly, so that somehow they get this—you used to have students arrive in Australia who'd produce an income, and they'd count as part of the NOM. Students were coming for first year; other people would finish their degree and they'd go. What happened? There was a pandemic, and people didn't come, so they weren't there to go. What has happened now is the economy has opened up. Students are coming to start their degrees, but they're not leaving, because they haven't finished their degrees! I mean, it is not hard.
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