Over-Reliance on Migration Costing Each Australian $80,000, Says Think Tank

Australia’s over-reliance on immigration at the expense of real productivity growth is costing everyday Aussies tens of thousands, says free-market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA). According to an IPA research report released earlier this week, since the year 2000, Australians are $80,038 (US$53,771) worse off due to an increased reliance on population growth. This figure equates to just under a year’s income for most Australians, with the national average salary sitting at about $90,800 per annum. IPA researchers modelled a scenario where population growth grew organically rather than with the assistance of immigration since the year 2000. In this scenario, GDP growth was maintained because in the researchers’ view it’s likely productivity would have kept increasing as it did in the late 1990s....