Nick Cater said high migration levels are worsening the housing crisis in Australia by driving rapid population growth [1, 2].
The issue is critical because the imbalance between population growth and available housing affects affordability and accessibility for residents across the country.
Cater, a senior fellow at the Menzies Research Centre, said the current levels of migration are "crazy" [1, 2]. He said the speed of population growth is primarily driven by immigration rather than natural increases [1, 2].
"We’ve got a declining birth rate as you know," Cater said [1].
He said the rise in population is almost entirely due to immigration [1]. This growth, he said, is occurring at a rate that outpaces the construction and availability of new homes, creating a systemic shortage [1, 2].
Cater said the government must align its intake of new residents with the actual capacity of the housing market [1].
"We don’t admit so many people that we don’t have houses," Cater said [1].
“The fact that it’s rising so fast is almost entirely down to immigration.”
This perspective highlights a growing tension between national economic goals, which often rely on immigration for labor and growth, and the physical constraints of infrastructure. If population growth continues to exceed housing production, the resulting scarcity likely maintains upward pressure on rents and property prices.
