Cut to ‘Howard-era’ Migration Levels Could Cost NSW $130 Billion

A call to halve NSW’s overseas migrant intake will cost the economy 200,000 jobs and $130 billion over a 10 year period, the Property Council has warned.

The drastic $130 billion figure, about 25 per cent of the current NSW economy, would be roughly equivalent to removing financial and insurance services and property – the two largest sectors of the economy.

The forecast comes from economic modelling commissioned by the Property Council of Australia and was criticised by the Premier over the weekend, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

“You’d hardly expect [the Property Council] to be supportive of a pause in our migration.

“[Its members] are developers who make money building more and more houses and apartments.

“I don’t govern for developers. I govern for the interests of all of NSW and that’s why we need a pause in population growth in Sydney.”

Premier Berejiklian made the call for a return to “Howard-era immigration levels” in October.

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Property Council NSW executive director Jane Fitzgerald said that the research strikes a cautionary note.

“NSW tried the ‘Sydney’s full’ experiment once before and all it delivered was lower productivity, lower economic growth and sowed the seeds of the housing affordability crisis we have experienced over the past few years.”

The research by economic analysts AEC has been released in advance of Wednesday’s Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting where migration is on the agenda.

“NSW relies on migration for its jobs, prosperity and growth.

“If migration is halved, 200,000 jobs will be at risk and there would be a $130 billion detrimental impact on the NSW economy.”