Australia Net Overseas Migration Falling

[connaust]

Population growth goes off the boil.

 

The three-year trend of slowing population growth from the 2008 peak continued in 2010 as more of us died and net overseas migration dived.....

 

....Thus while various politicians were jumping on the anti-migration band wagon during last year’s election, we were already stepping back from a brief surge to a more normal growth rate....

 

.....The big swing factor in our population story, though, remains net overseas migration. As the one-off factors in 2009 wash out and the international student industry crumbles, NOM dived by 35 per cent to 171,000.....

 

 

 

[Guest Jamie Smith]

Population growth goes off the boil.

 

The three-year trend of slowing population growth from the 2008 peak continued in 2010 as more of us died and net overseas migration dived.....

 

....Thus while various politicians were jumping on the anti-migration band wagon during last year’s election, we were already stepping back from a brief surge to a more normal growth rate....

 

.....The big swing factor in our population story, though, remains net overseas migration. As the one-off factors in 2009 wash out and the international student industry crumbles, NOM dived by 35 per cent to 171,000.....

 

Yessssss......

 

The Govt won't care about falling inflow because they still have a year's worth of candidates in the supply chain, including a large bunch of students and others with low processing priority who rightly won't just give up, and a failing effort to deter boat people who are overloading the courts again. These last two groups might result in surpise visa grants if it clears them from the system, or retrospective legislation if the public mood is against it.

 

And of course the pollies shouted about the need to reduce something that was already in decline, so they can say they had some effect on things and prove themselves "right".

 

Actually, the fall in student enrolments in dodgy colleges has had a major effect, as NOM to Victoria has plunged the most and Victoria had the worst college standards (nad higher student enrolments)

 

But the rational argument still needs to be stated and argued, that the plunge in migration numbers is intensifying skills shortages and threatening to drive up interest rates.

 

People don't link more migrants with improved living standards but it's true.

 

Fewer skilled workers grown locally = higher wage costs and inflation.

 

More migrants = more demand for services which creates more jobs, and more bodies available for work (plus more taxes paid to Govt to offset tising support costs for the growing numbers of retiring older people).

 

It's time the isolationists and bigots were told to mix sex with travel.