Peter Dutton says he’ll cut migrant numbers by 100,000 people a year as soon as he gets into office. He says it’s part of his plan to free up housing for Australians, but it could also impact the workforce needed to build new homes. 

Dutton is putting a number to his plans just days after immigration dominated the first leaders’ debate.

Abul Rizvi was a senior official in the Department of Immigration from the early 90s to 2007, until he left while serving as deputy secretary. He says our current discourse ignores the need for a long-term population plan, addressing how big our country should be – and why.

Today, Abul Rizvi on the politics of population growth and the real impact of immigration on the housing crisis.

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Guest: Former deputy secretary of the department of immigration, Abul Rizvi.

Background Reading: If I was immigration minister, I would develop a population plan

Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

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