The latest population numbers are out and they debunk recent claims by right-wing media and thinktanks that immigration is at “record” levels and “out of control”.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that net overseas migration, or Nom as it’s known, was just shy of 316,000 in the year to March.

That’s down from about 335,000 in the year to December.

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To be clear: migration, while easing, remains high compared with the roughly 230,000 annual rate in the five years before the pandemic.

But this time last year, the ABS was reporting an annual Nom of 493,800, while the peak was almost 556,000 in September 2023. immigration graph

Clearly, then, migration is not at “record levels”, nor is it “out of control”.

It’s trending lower and has been

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