The federal budget attempts to appease struggling households with a few hand-outs, while maintaining the underlying drivers of per capita recession, says Sustainable Population Australia president Peter Strachan.
"The main reason Australia's post-Covid inflation is more persistent than in other developed countries is our run-away population growth, sending rents and building costs skyrocketing," said Mr Strachan.
Treasury still relies on mass immigration to pump up GDP and balance the budget, without a thought for the costs it imposes on households and other levels of government, let alone the obvious environmental impacts.
"Between state and local governments and utilities, each additional resident costs upwards of $130,000 in public infrastructure, then there are ongoing costs for healthcare and children's education, that are not met by the quantum of tax generated," said Mr Strachan.
"The Albanese government has promised to reduce net migration to pre-pandemic levels but keeps taking actions that increase it. Only a reduction in student numbers will allow a sustainable improvement in housing affordability.
"Pre-pandemic immigration levels are still far too high, more than twice the average intake before 2005. The high-immigration experiment has been running for 20 years. It's time to admit that it hasn't worked. It hasn't fixed skills shortages, it made them worse. If not for the mining boom our balance of trade would be tanking with all the extra imports needed to build and fit out houses.
"Population growth has flattened vast areas of natural habitat, made our cities dependent on desalinated water, and is making it much harder to reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. Australians can see their quality of life going backwards.
"The vast majority of Australians don't want more population growth. It is time their voices were heard and heeded.
