MATHIAS CORMANN URGES AUSTRALIAN PARTIES TO REJECT MIGRATION CAPS

Mathias Cormann is urging Australia’s major parties not to adopt migration caps in response to concerns about living costs. The former finance minister, now secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, plans to make the case in an address to the Centre for Independent Studies on Saturday night. He argues that higher productivity offers a lasting way to improve housing supply, wages and energy costs. Cormann is expected to warn Labour and the Coalition against adopting the economic policies of parties seeking their voters. “Mainstream parties that respond to a populist surge by adopting its economics do not recover their voters,” his prepared remarks say.

Cormann’s planned address comes as One Nation, which campaigns heavily on immigration restrictions, has gained support since the 2025 federal election. The latest Guardian Essential poll put One Nation’s primary vote at 25% and the Coalition’s at 22%. Those figures represent the poll’s findings, rather than an election result. Cormann’s remarks identify energy bills, home ownership and falling real incomes as concerns that have helped such parties gain support. He calls for more homes, lower energy costs, real wage growth and a credible budget.

Cormann is expected to argue that parties can address those concerns through productivity growth. His prepared remarks say that copying another party’s policies could cost mainstream parties voters both to that party and to the political centre. “Mimic the populists, and you simply confirm that they were right all along,” he plans to say. He also says that delivering on housing, energy costs, wages and the budget would reduce support for those parties.