Australia’s economic performance and migration policy dominated a heated federal parliamentary session as the Coalition pressed the government over whether population growth is driving the country’s economic expansion.
During question time, shadow treasurer Angus Taylor asked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to confirm whether economic growth since 2022 had been driven solely by immigration.
Taylor’s question came amid a broader opposition push to frame migration levels as a central factor in Australia’s economic and housing pressures.
Albanese rejected the premise of the question and instead pointed to new economic data released earlier in the week.
He began by criticising Coalition MPs for failing to acknowledge that Australia’s gender pay gap had fallen to a record low.
“The truth is that yesterday’s national accounts did show the economy was growing at its fastest rate in almost three years,” Albanese told parliament.
“Those opposite have never been more upset than when Australia is going forward,” he said.
“That is why the shadow treasurer even puts money on it.”
The exchange quickly became heated inside the House of Representatives.
Coalition frontbencher Dan Tehan raised a point of order, arguing that the prime minister’s remarks were not relevant to the question.
However, the Speaker of the House, Milton Dick, rejected the intervention, telling MPs that the atmosphere in the chamber was already “too hot”.
Tensions escalated further moments later when Coalition MP Phillip Thompson was ordered to leave the chamber after repeatedly interjecting during Albanese’s response.
Dick said Thompson had interrupted the prime minister seven times and warned he would not tolerate a “wall of noise” during proceedings.
The debate then shifted to housing and population growth.
Liberal MP Tim Wilson asked the prime minister to confirm that Australia’s population had increased by about 1.9 million people since 2022, largely due to migration, while the government had missed housing targets by “tens of thousands” of homes.
Wilson’s question reflects growing political pressure on the government over Australia’s housing shortage and the relationship between migration levels and housing supply.
In response, Albanese again rejected the opposition’s framing.
He argued that current migration levels were lower than those recorded under the previous Coalition government.
“There have been fewer people arriving now than under the Coalition government,” he said.
The prime minister also used the exchange to criticise the former government’s record on housing policy.
“I can tell them what their housing figures were – their target was zero,” Albanese said.
“They didn’t even have a housing minister.”
Albanese added that long-term population forecasts suggest Australia’s population growth will be slower than projections made by the former Coalition government before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The figures show … by 2030–31 Australia’s population is expected to be 754,000 smaller than what the former Coalition forecast prior to the pandemic,” he said.
Migration and housing affordability have become central political battlegrounds as Australia grapples with rising rents, limited housing supply and strong population growth following the reopening of international borders after the pandemic.
Economists note that while migration can support economic growth and labour supply, rapid population increases can also intensify pressure on housing markets if construction fails to keep pace.
The exchange highlights how economic management, migration policy and housing supply are likely to remain dominant themes in parliamentary debate ahead of future federal elections.
