Migration Senator WHITTEN (Western Australia) (14:41): My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Minister Gallagher. Australia's labour productivity has barely moved since 2016 and ranks amongst the weakest in the advanced world. The Reserve Bank's head of economic analysis, Michael Plumb, said the lack of capital deepening, meaning less capital investment per worker, has held back labour productivity—more people, less capital. The Australian reported last week that the Treasurer will deliver the worst decade for productivity since records began in 1960. Given that net overseas migration more than doubled from the mid-2000s and then hit record levels under this government, does the government accept that high immigration has produced capital shallowing and is a material cause of Australia's productivity slump? Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for Finance, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Women, Minister for Government Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:42): I thank Senator Whitten for the question. I don't agree with him. I know that One Nation would like to lay, at the feet of all migrants in this country, every issue or every gripe that One Nation has, and they would like to blame migration for that. There are productivity challenges across most advanced economies at the moment, Senator Whitten. It's an issue that all advanced economies are dealing with. Our lowest productivity decade was, I think, the one that the coalition oversaw when they were in government. We revised down our productivity assumptions when we came to government in recognition of that, but we've also, in this budget, got a very strong focus on driving productivity, and the Treasury advice to us is that those combined measures I've outlined—all 15 of them, which we talked about last week—give them confidence on achieving the productivity assumption in the budget. They go across a whole range of areas across government, whether it be in approvals reform, in encouraging business investment around how we regulate, reduce or improve better regulation in a whole range of areas, and the adoption of technology and artificial intelligence. We can see that already improving productivity in some other economies. There's an opportunity here, and we have been very clear in the budget about driving that change. No, we don't blame low productivity on the fact that Australia has for many, many decades relied on support from overseas workers to come and support our economy. The PRESIDENT: Senator Whitten, first supplementary. Senator WHITTEN (Western Australia) (14:44): I'm not blaming migrants; I'm blaming you. Canada and New Zealand ran the same high migration model and, with Australia, recorded the worst Labor productivity in the developed world after 2015. When Canada drastically cut its immigration numbers, the world didn't stop spinning. Instead, in early 2026, Canadian output per person was rising. What does this government pursue—a mass immigration model that has been shown to suppress per capita growth and productivity and that has actively hurt Australia's standard of living? (Time expired) Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for Finance, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Women, Minister for Government Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:44): I thank Senator Whitten for the supplementary. Again, just adding to the answer I gave to the primary question but including that we have reduced net overseas migration by about 45 per cent compared to the post-COVID peak when we did see numbers—unsurprisingly, because our borders had been shut, we did see a pull forward as people returned to Australia and were able to take up the opportunities that their visa allowed. We will build a migration system that works for the skills we need and for the businesses and services that Australians rely on, but the net overseas migration has come down substantially. The productivity issues across the economy require a whole-of-government coordinated response, including skills and better recognising skills here, and there's more work to do. (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator Whitten, second supplementary? Senator WHITTEN (Western Australia) (14:46): Lower and better targeted immigration produces better labour productivity as capital investment catches up to the number of workers. Canada saw this when they cut their immigration. This is not theory. It's demonstrably true. One Nation's plan would take net overseas migration negative for three years then cap it at 130,000 so investment can catch up and living standards and wages can rise per person. Will Labor support One Nation's well-considered sensible plan to put Australians standard of living first? Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for Finance, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Women, Minister for Government Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:46): I think well considered and One Nation don't necessarily go together very closely, but the answer to the question is, no, we wouldn't. Indeed, in the feedback that has come back from a whole range of groups raising concerns about significant detrimental impact on economic growth, from the Business Council to the Australian chamber of commerce and energy to the National Farmers Federation, who say it would have a terrible impact on us, to the Student Accommodation Council to, I imagine, regional universities, aged-care facilities, hospitals, pubs, farms—all of those areas would suffer under your policy, Senator Whitten. I think that's pretty clear to everybody who understands the migration system and to everyone who operates a business and relies on a set of skills to help them operate that business and make a living. So, no, Labor won't be supporting it. The PRESIDENT (14:47): I advise the chamber that Senator Babet has passed his question to Senator Roberts.