High immigration masks Australian economic decline

Australia has ridden 25 years of economic growth without a recession. An amazing stretch of prosperity and a badge of honour that governments of all persuasions have tried to claim as their own.

Much has been written about the importance of the 1980s economic reforms in setting Australia up for this quarter century of expansion. A mining boom of historical proportions was also a massive help.

But often underappreciated is the role that migration has played. A huge increase in migration has fuelled headline GDP growth, keeping Australia technically out of recession. But, it's also masked a dirty secret, individuals haven't felt the benefit of this record run.

In fact, since the GFC, Australia has seen per capita income go backwards and it's only recently recovered.

The most recent numbers show a slight downturn in the long-term arrivals to departure ratio.

But this is a misleading picture. The truth is, migration to Australia is still proceeding at a record clip.

Much of it fuelled by "temporary" migrants, many of which are not captured in these numbers.

These include some students, 457 workers, working holiday and bridging visa holders - who are generally able to work and many of whom end up staying in the country permanently.

The below table shows that at 30 September 2016 there were nearly 2 million temporary visa holders within Australia. An increase of nearly 5 per cent in just one year. More: abc