Liberals would slash 'unsustainable' immigration levels: Abbott

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott wants Australians to have more babies but wants to see fewer migrants coming into the country.

Mr Abbott on Sunday today announced a coalition government would cut the annual immigration intake to 170,000 places, compared to a peak of 300,000 two years ago.

The coalition wanted to make immigration more sustainable because many people thought it was ‘‘out of control’’.

But Mr Abbott is keen for Australians to have more babies, echoing an instruction from former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello who called on them to have three children - one for mum, one for dad and one for the country.

‘‘I would like to see our birth rate improve because even now, despite the uptick in the birth rate over the last few years, it’s still significantly below replacement level,’’ Mr Abbott told reporters in Parliament House as he detailed the coalition policy.

Employer-nominated migrant places - aimed at addressing skills shortages - will not be cut.

But Mr Abbott would not provide the same guarantee for student numbers.

‘‘What I don’t want us to be doing is selling immigration outcomes in the guise of selling education,’’ he said.

A coalition government would cut the current annual rate of population growth from more than two per cent to the historical long-run average of 1.4 per cent.

It would task the Productivity Commission to advise the government on population and immigration levels.

Labor dismissed the policy as ‘‘a con’’, saying the immigration intake already was on the way down and soon would be less than the coalition’s target of 170,000.

‘‘What Tony Abbott has said today is a con,’’ Minister for Infrastructure Anthony Albanese told reporters in Hobart.

‘‘He’s taken 170,000 as his figure ... but 170,000 is where migration levels will be, regardless of an alleged policy change.’’

Sustainable Population Minister Tony Burke said he was at a loss to understand what Mr Abbott was proposing.

‘‘Phoney Tony has been caught out plagiarising the existing migration projections and trying to trick the Australian people into believing it is a new policy,’’ Mr Burke said.

The latest data showed Australia’s net overseas migration was on track to drop to between 230,000 and 250,000 people by the end of the 2009-10 financial year, he said.

Student visa numbers had dropped from 320,000 in 2008-09 to about 270,000 in 2009-2010.

Mr Burke said applications lodged for skilled work visas in May 2010 were 32 per cent lower than in July 2009.

The government had cut the immigration intake last year because of the economic slowdown, and also tightened eligibility for some visas.

Treasury forecasts predict Australia will have 36 million people by 2050 if current migration patterns continue.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has rejected the forecast as a government target, opting instead for what she calls a sustainable population.

Mr Abbott said Ms Gillard was keen to talk about population but not honest about the role of immigration in the debate.

‘‘You cannot have a population discussion without also having an immigration discussion,’’ he said.

Mr Abbott challenged Ms Gillard to nominate an alternative figure if Labor did not agree with the coalition’s migrant intake target.

AAP