Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I raise the concerns of many constituents about the rate of Australia's immigration intake and whether it is sustainable for it to take around 190,000 people on an annual basis, particularly because constituents are concerned about the impact it is having on their lives and whether it should be halved. Many cities are now becoming increasingly congested, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to manage the challenges of a rising population. It is particularly bad in the great state of Victoria, where the state government is more interested in funnelling more and more money into public sector wages to the benefit of their union members at the expense of major infrastructure that we need in our state.

The challenge of higher rates of immigration has been partly driven by the need to lower the average age of the population to make sure that we can have people who are working to be able to support our ageing population. The challenge for us as a country is whether we can continue to sustain this in the future, particularly in a tax system where tax is mostly paid by people during their working years, and whether we need to amend and reformed taxes to make sure people pay them at all stages of life.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's time, despite the hectoring from those opposite, that we had a proper conversation about tax reform and what is driving our migration policy so that we can have an Australia that is free and just and makes sure that it can support the people that this country is here to serve.