Senate Select Committee on Productivity in Australia (part 1 of 2) — hearing of 24 April 2026: transcript & video · Polyfact

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Senate Select Committee on Productivity in Australia (part 1 of 2)

23 April 2026

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Contents updated on 22 Oct 2026

The chair opens the Productivity Committee hearing and hears from Dr Bob Birrell, who links rapid migration and student‑driven population growth to weaker labour productivity, a migrant underclass and housing pressures, before senators test and contest his claims on temporary visas, skills, ageing and labour shortages.

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Committee opening and Birrell migration–productivity critique

10:05

Opening formalities — committee mandate and witness protections

10:05

Birrell opening — population growth, migrant underclass, housing supply thesis

11:32

McKenzie Q&A — temporary visas, student funding model, caps and language standards

18:34

Grogan and Kovacic challenge — non‑market productivity, ageing, and migration benefits

26:17

ANU demographers — migration data, ageing and family policy

42:46

Transition to ANU Migration Hub — witnesses introduced and demographic framing

42:46

Allen, McDonald, Gamlen — post‑COVID migration data, ageing and temporary stocks

46:03

Grogan and Bragg — non‑market productivity, wellbeing and housing as a blind spot

59:08

McKenzie and Ananda‑Rajah — inequality, regional skills targeting and fertility policy

01:01:38

Kovacic Q&A — tax, workforce participation and family‑friendly workplaces

01:17:30

Urban planning experts — skills, housing and national settlement strategy

01:25:07

Bragg and urban experts — skills shortages, recognition and planning alignment

01:25:07

Urban panel — regional skills, ageing in place and national settlement strategy

01:30:39

McKenzie and Grogan — livable city design, non‑market value and defining ‘urban’

01:39:49

Regionalisation vision — inland cities, decentralisation targets and national plan

01:45:13

Regional equity and non‑market metrics — South Australia and wellbeing indices

01:53:16

Regional capitals and RAI — constraints, housing and migration levers

03:55:57

Regional capitals and RAI — growth potential, constraints and population plan

03:55:57

Regional capitals — housing, migration levers and regional infrastructure bias

03:59:00

Regional Development Australia — reweighting metrics and investing in housing

05:25:59

RDAs panel — regional productivity systems, non‑market services and housing

05:25:59

RDAs — metrics, PPPs for housing and tailoring to diverse regional economies

05:42:30

Senate Select Committee on Productivity in Australia (part 1 of 2)

23 April 2026

Senate Select Committee on Productivity in Australia Fri, 24 Apr 2026 Australian Parliament

10:04 - 10:17

Speaker 22

I declare open this hearing of the senate select committee on productivity in Australia. I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners. Today's can be... Will be conducted in person and via video conference. I'm senator Bragg, chair of the committee.

10:17 - 11:13

Speaker 6

I'm joined by senator Grogan McKenzie, Anandarajah and Kavasik. These are public proceedings being livestreamed via the Parliament House website, there'll be a hand saned transcript. I remind all witnesses that in giving evidence to this committee, they are protected by parliamentary privilege. It is unlawful for anyone to threaten or disadvantage a witness on account of evidence given to a committee, and such action may be taken in the senate as a contempt. Mhmm.

It is also a contempt to give false or misleading evidence. Witnesses have a right to request to be heard in camera. I remind all senators to please behave appropriately in accordance with the code. Members and witnesses who are not speaking, please mute microphones. I now welcome mister doctor Bob Beryl from the Australian Population Research Institute.

I understand that information on privilege and the protection of witnesses giving evidence to the Senate committees has been provided to you. Please now state your name for the hands of record.

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