Weighing the real cost of migration cuts

October 18, 2026 — 4:00am

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.

Remove items from your saved list to add more.

No gift articles left

You've used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.

Australia is, by most measures, a migration success story.

First- and second-generation migrants make up over half the population, diversity is generally celebrated and the nation is outperforming many peers in social and economic resilience.

Yet anxiety about the scale and rate of overseas migration since the Covid-19 pandemic is growing in the community.

Many people want the migration rate lowered or even pushed into net negative territory, and politicians are responding to what sections of the public are telling them.

Today’s report by federal political correspondent Natassia Chrysanthos and senior economics correspondent Shane Wright sheds light on the real implications of what some of our leaders are........

© Brisbane Times