Why One Nation’s push for net‑negative migration matters for Australia’s economy and society

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce announced a plan to push net overseas migration into negative territory for three years. The proposal would heavily restrict student visas and block family visas for skilled workers, cutting about 750,000 places.

Business groups and universities warned that losing those 750,000 migrants would devastate the economy. Political commentator George Megalogenis said the impact would be on the scale of the depressions of the 1890s and 1930s.

Net overseas migration has been negative only four times in Australian history: twice during the depressions of the 1890s and 1930s, and twice during the First and Second World Wars, according to Megalogenis.

Both the Labor Party and the Coalition have also said they intend to cut migration, but they have not released detailed policies yet.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned that setting arbitrary migration targets could cause long‑term damage to the economy, a concern voiced by its chief executive Andrew McKellar.

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