QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Dr CHALMERS (Rankin—Treasurer) (14:09): When it comes to migration, as the Minister for Home Affairs just said, migration is a force for good in our communities, in our country and in our economy so long as it's properly managed. And the announcement that the minister made today at the National Press Club and the series of important steps that we are taking are all about ensuring that our migration system is robust and that it delivers in our national interest, including in our national economic interest.
I pay tribute to the minister for the work that he has done leading this policy development and also the wonderful job that he did at the National Press Club today, laying out our policy. Now, the difference between this side of the House and that side of the House is that our migration policy is determined by cabinet ministers in the cabinet room; the Liberal Party's migration policy is determined by One Nation in the cockpit of a plane donated by a billionaire.
That's the difference between this side of the House and that side of the House. And if you look at the migration numbers that came out today, today there were new numbers on net overseas migration. And what they showed is that net overseas migration on our watch has nearly halved from its peak, and we expect it to fall further.
If you look at the net overseas migration numbers that came out at 11.30 am today, what they show is that we are ahead of schedule—ahead of forecast—when it comes to getting the net overseas migration number down to more normal levels. Now, we understand, if even if those opposite don't want to front up to this, when we came to office net overseas migration was surging, and a lot of the key indicators in the housing market were falling.
We are turning that around. And the net overseas migration numbers show that that is the case, and the policies announced by the home affairs minister earlier today are all about ensuring that we continue to manage the program in a responsible way, in the interests of our people and in the interests of their economy.