Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

(—) (): The best way I can answer this—and this is based on some advice that's just been given to me—is to refer Senator Hanson to the Productivity Commission, which did an inquiry into this topic and found that sustaining migration at its long-term average rate and with the current profile of the migrant intake will increase domestic product per person based on seven per cent relative to a zero net overseas migration case by 2060. I think intuitively we all understand that talented young people from around the world making a decision to make Australia their home is good for our economy and our country, but the Productivity Commission has put some numbers on it. Very simply, having an ageing population puts pressure on us to find other ways to boost our population with a younger population. It does present a drag on growth, which means lower revenue for government to fund the increased costs of providing health and social welfare services to an ageing population. Being able to attract more people from around the world is a good thing. (Time expired)