Angus Taylor just accidentally proved that the housing affordability crisis has nothing to do with immigration. In his budget reply speech he said “A Coalition government will cap immigration numbers based on the number of homes constructed each year.” But clearly, no one in his office ran the numbers.
Thu 21 May 2026 13.20 AEST
Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Angus Taylor just accidentally proved that the housing affordability crisis has nothing to do with immigration.
In his budget reply speech, he said: “A Coalition government will cap immigration numbers based on the number of homes constructed each year.”
He is trying to blame migrants for the housing crisis in a vain attempt to outflank One Nation on immigration policy.
But clearly, no one in his office ran the numbers because if net migration was linked to home construction, then there would be more immigrants, not less.
Yep, you read that right. Mr ‘Tough on Immigration’ would be bringing in more people.
This is because we are building new homes faster than we bring in new migrants.
I’ve done the maths and worked out how many more migrants Angus would bring in if his policy was in place now.
It would have brought in an extra 120,000 migrants last year, 132,000 more migrants this year, and 730,000 more migrants over the next four years.
What Angus has accidentally proved is that the housing crisis is not an immigration crisis.
Fantastic. Great move. Well done, Angus.
The Australia Institute has been highlighting this for some time. We have shown that over the last 10 years, the number of homes has increased by 19%, but the population has only increased by 16%.
The number of homes is increasing faster than the population.
The housing affordability crisis has not been caused by immigration or a lack of housing construction. It has been caused by an increase in investor demand for housing.
Too many people speculating on the housing market, turning it into just another financial asset to make money on.
Attracted by the 50% capital gains tax (CGT) discount, investors have rushed into the market, pushing up house prices and locking out first home buyers.
Housing has stopped being about a safe and secure place to live and is now a way to build a financial nest egg. There is nothing wrong with investing, but too many properties are being sold to investors, and that means fewer home owners and more renters.
The changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount announced in this year’s Federal Budget will take away this incentive, drive out the speculators and give an advantage to first home buyers.
If Angus wanted to make housing more affordable, he could support these changes in Parliament. Or alternatively, he could invent policy dog whistles that will do nothing to fix the affordability crisis, while accidentally showing that immigration has nothing to do with it.
One of these paths will lead to more affordable housing; the other will lead to Coalition irrelevance.
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