The Macrobusiness.com.au article (March 13, 2026, by guest author Stephen Saunders) delivers a scathing critique of Australia's immigration policy under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, portraying the nation as stubbornly committed to "open borders" mass migration despite clear warnings from comparable countries like Canada. The piece uses Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's early March 2026 visit to Australia — focused on "middle power" alliances, critical minerals, defense, trade, and AI cooperation amid global tensions (e.g., Trump-era shifts, Iran conflict) — as a missed opportunity for reflection. While Carney's agenda emphasised strategic collaboration between "strategic cousins" like Canada and Australia, the article argues Australia failed to absorb lessons from Canada's dramatic pivot on immigration, which has eased housing pressures.

The Core Argument: Australia Ignores Canada's Turnaround

Canada, under Justin Trudeau and now Carney (who became PM after leadership changes), slashed net migration from historic highs (peaking near 3% annual population growth in early 2024) to achieve near-zero population growth in 2025 (targeting -0.2%), with further deep cuts planned for 2026 and growth below 1% by 2027 (mostly immigration-driven). This shift has visibly reduced asking rents, alleviated housing pain, and allowed genuine per-capita economic progress (e.g., 1.7% real GDP growth in 2025 with minimal population boost). The article contrasts this with Australia persisting at over 1% annual population growth (driven by net overseas migration of ~1,000 daily / up to 1,500 arrivals), fuelling historic housing unaffordability lows and "needless suffering" for renters.

Australia stands as the "world outlier" among wealthy Western/Anglosphere nations by refusing to curb migration to address rental/housing crises. The Albanese government (2022–present) has overseen net migration 60% higher than the previous Rudd-era record, with no pauses despite opportunities like the 2020–21 COVID border closures or the 2026 Iran war context (soaring fuel prices, oil import reliance under "net zero" policies).

Big Business and Short-Term Profits Over Long-Term National Interest

The essay accuses Australian elites — government, business, and think tanks — of prioritising short-term GDP inflation and corporate interests over sustainable national well-being. High migration artificially props up headline growth (e.g., 2.6% real GDP in 2025 largely from 1.6% population increase), benefiting big business via cheap labour, expanded markets, and construction demand, while masking deeper failures: real wages stagnant since 2011, productivity collapse, stratified education/society, and high energy costs.

The "governing class" (top 20%) hoards opportunities, virtue-signals on diversity, and dismisses median voter concerns as "populist" or from "tiny brains" (quoting ANU's Jill Sheppard). Pro-Labor pollster Kos Samaras is cited for arguing democracy now requires appeasing "diverse" electorates with large migrant majorities, even if national aggregates favour pauses. Treasury views like Jim Chalmers' see 2.6% growth as "winning," quarantining population-driven metrics from budget reforms.

Official narratives are lambasted as "lies" or "fibs": migration isn't policy-controllable, it's lower than under the Coalition, skilled/vetted migrants deliver net gains, help net zero/housing supply, build cohesion, or win the "talent war"—all while ignoring supply-demand basics where rapid inflows outstrip infrastructure/housing.

Heading Full-On to Disaster

The piece warns Australia is "full on to disaster" by squandering chances to reset (e.g., no post-COVID or wartime pause). Continued high migration risks entrenching inequality, eroding living standards, and undermining democracy as elites prioritise short-term profits and ideological commitments over voter-fed-upness (evident in One Nation's rise). Albanese risks historical judgment as an "immigration radical," leaving legacy burdens: mass migration, low affordability, stagnant wages, productivity fails, and societal strain.

In essence, Macrobusiness (consistently critical of high migration's role in housing/infrastructure woes, bless them!) sees Australia's refusal to learn from Canada's pragmatic cuts as emblematic of capture by big business and elite short-termism — sacrificing long-term national resilience for artificial growth. The country "learns nothing" from Carney's visit, doubling down on a path that lets affordability "burn" while claiming exceptionalism. Without a sharp reversal, the article predicts deepening crises in housing, wages, cohesion, and quality of life.

https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2026/03/open-borders-australia-learns-nothing-from-carney-visit/