Australia's mainstream political parties are being advised against adopting populist policies, such as migration caps, to address public concerns over the cost of living. Mathias Cormann, the longest-serving finance minister for Australia and current Secretary-General for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), is instead advocating for increased productivity.
Mr Cormann is set to deliver an address to the Centre for Independent Studies, where he will promote productivity as the only reliable long-term solution to reduce the cost of living. He is expected to warn against mimicking populist approaches, stating that mainstream parties adopting such economics risk losing voters to both the original populist parties and the political centre.
While acknowledging that more Australians now believe the migration intake is too high, Mr Cormann will point to OECD research indicating that in regions with more migrants, employment for Australian-born workers grew faster, with no measurable effect on their wages. He will argue that the solution lies in addressing housing supply, infrastructure, services, and the composition of migration intake.
Mr Cormann will also state that tariffs, which have been imposed by US president Donald Trump and proposed by One Nation, would not resolve the cost of living and could potentially raise costs for farmers, miners, and builders. He believes that Australia's economic growth through productivity is the only way to address these issues, dismissing populist shortcuts as leading to a "poorer country."