Australia s immigration pace is set to soar beyond pre-Covid levels regardless of who wins the next election.
While population growth is now at levels unseen since World War I, politicians from both the government and opposition are calling for the borders to be opened again to migrants.
Treasury also wants immigration to be revived to boost economic activity, predicting in the Budget papers that net annual immigration would climb to 235,000 in 2024-25, higher than where it was before the pandemic.
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Australia s immigration pace is set to soar beyond pre-Covid levels regardless of who wins the next election. While population growth is now at levels unseen since World War I, politicians from both the government and opposition are calling for the floodgates to be opened again to migrants. Pictured is Sydney s Wynyard station in May 2021
The federal government plans to ramp up immigration once Australia s borders reopen, Budget papers have revealed.
Treasury argued population growth needed to be turbocharged again to boost economic activity over the longer-term and save the apartment building sector.
Before the pandemic, Australia had an annual population growth pace of 1.5 per cent - among the highest in the developed world - despite repeated polls showing most Australians are in favour of reducing immigration.
Sydney and Melbourne were absorbing the bulk of new arrivals - with each city adding 100,000 new residents a year despite already being home to more than 5million people.