South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas describes calls to cut immigration as ‘appeasement’

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has likened the idea of cutting immigration to stem the rise of One Nation as “appeasement” — picking a fight with his Federal Labor colleagues.

“The correct response to Australia’s present economic challenges and the realisation of tomorrow’s economic opportunities is this: preserve our strong migration program,” Mr Malinauskas told the Sydney Institute’s annual dinner on Wednesday night.

“The correct political response to anti-immigration politics and populists is not appeasement.”

With One Nation outpolling the major parties in some polls, Mr Malinauskas used the word “appeasement” — often associated with 1930s UK Conservative prime minister Neville Chamberlain’s attempt to avoid war with Nazi Germany.

“More troubling is the prospect of mainstream parties entering a race to the bottom for who can cut migration numbers the most,” he said.

“This is not unfortunate, this is madness. If politics becomes the principal determinant of migration policy and a numerical race to the bottom ensues, it is going to hurt every Australian economically.”

The popular SA Labor leader made the appeal to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, with the Federal Government aiming to trim net overseas migration from 301,000 last year to 245,000 this financial year.

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation wants net overseas migration to fall to 130,000 while Coalition frontbencher Andrew Bragg has nominated 180,000.

With Labor under pressure politically to cut immigration levels to at least pre-pandemic levels, Mr Malinauskas cited a 2021 Treasury calculation of the average, Australian-born resident being a net cost of $85,000 to public budgets compared with the average, skilled migrant delivering a $198,000 net benefit to public budgets over a lifetime in Australia.

“Skilled visa recipients arrive in their prime working age, immediately able to support themselves in well-paid work,” he said.

“Not only is migration not a drain on our public services, migration is part of the reason governments can afford to provide those services. Skilled migrants are big net taxpayers.”

The Commonwealth Treasury is expecting personal income tax receipts to grow from 50.5 per cent of total tax receipts in 2022–23 to 58.4 per cent in 2062–63. Personal income taxes are projected to make up 51.9 per cent of all total revenue this financial year.

Following a crackdown on student visas during a rental crisis, Mr Malinauskas warned scaling back the number of international students would lead to cuts to research funding, noting education was Australia’s fourth biggest export after iron ore, coal and liquefied natural gas.

“International student cuts amount to an export restriction,” he said.

“Imagine if we did this to the mining industry. There would be an ad on every television station and mobile phone about how we’re killing the goose that lays the golden egg. It is crazy.”

He also dismissed the idea of high overseas migration levels pushing up house prices, with real estate values in Adelaide growing by 8.6 per cent over the year to August to a touch under $1 million, even though his home State of South Australia last year had a net exodus of 1576 people to other states and a below-average population growth pace of 1 per cent.

“Populists do have at least one advantage in their anti-migration campaign: a simple story,” Mr Malinauskas said.

“Houses too expensive? Cut immigration. Stuck in traffic? Cut immigration. Hospital ED too full? Cut immigration.

“Neighbour’s dog barking too much? Cut immigration. This anti-immigration story cuts through because it is simple and easy to remember.”

South Australia’s net overseas migration level of 18,518 last year was less than half that of Western Australia’s 40,422 and only a fraction of NSW’s 90,961 and Victoria’s 85,044.

SA receives $1.36 for every dollar of GST collected per capita, which is a lot higher than the other mainland states that receive a much larger per capita share of overseas migration even though it faces less pressure on its transport infrastructure from overseas population growth.

With the Federal Government last month slowing the processing of working holiday maker visas, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Tourism and Transport Forum, National Farmers Federation and Accommodation Australia on Thursday to restore access to these visas, associated with fruit picking in regional areas.