Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for the question, because the link between the migration program and our population is an interesting issue which has not had enough attention in Australia. In recent years we have seen an increase in the net overseas migration—under the Howard government it started growing quite a bit—as a result of the increase in temporary migration programs such as the 457 temporary worker program and, in particular, by the expansion of the student program, which saw tens of thousands of students enter Australia who were added into the net overseas migration figures.

So we have seen an increase in net overseas migration. I think that has created some concern in the community about migration and its impact—not so much on total population but on the pressures on our cities, our water systems et cetera. That is why this government has sought to put our migration programs, both permanent and temporary, within a long-term planning framework. That is a decision we took early in this government. So, rather than having the annual announcement of the program and nothing else, we took a view that we ought to do some long-term planning about the role of the migration program and its influence on population and start some research on the impacts of that increase in population. That work has been undertaken by my department and others, to get a much better handle on planning the role of the migration program and its impact on the wider community. But it is true to say that the annual program was set by the government. The government can move that level of migration up and down annually and therefore adjust the increase or decrease in migration, according to a decision of the government annually.

We think there ought to be a longer planning framework. We are doing that. but clearly the level of permanent migration is a decision for a government and we set that target each year, as did the previous government.