The evidence for immigration

The recent Intergenerational Report has rekindled debate about the benefits and costs of our immigration program, which is one of Australia’s greatest economic assets: young, hard-working migrants with a diverse and rich cultural background that economically, politically and socially contributes to grow Australia’s strength and affluence. Unfortunately, some debaters are propagating misconceptions and myths about immigration. Even respected columnists are lured to the easy scapegoating, stating that “immigration carries a huge threat to our productivity” as a bigger Australia requires additional housing and public infrastructure.  Indeed. Australia needs greater investment to stop reducing — and preferably start increasing — our levels of physical capital per person. Yet it would be more productive to see coming infrastructure requirements as an opportunity to grow our economy, instead of blaming immigrants for our political pusillanimity in tackling urban bottlenecks.&nbsp