Aug 7, 2026 – 4.00pmHome Affairs Minister Tony Burke must dread the quarterly migration numbers. The routine tally of arrivals and departures inevitably delivers the same verdict: numbers higher than expected, opposition claims of “mass migration”, and a growing number of anxious voters wondering why the government simply can’t turn off the tap.“We elect people, and we pay them money to sort out complex problems, and they don’t appear to be doing that,” says pollster John Scales. “So people are saying, ‘Well, let’s just do the simple thing and shut the gate – because nothing seems to be working’.”Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Michael ReadDeputy economics editorMichael Read is deputy economics editor, reporting from Parliament House, Canberra. He joined the Financial Review in 2021 from the Reserve Bank of Australia. Reach Michael securely @michaelread.14 on Signal.Fetching latest articles