NSW Premier Breaks Ranks on Immigration, Citing Service Strain

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has publicly diverged from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government, calling for more robust management of the nation's immigration intake.

Minns stated that the period following COVID-19 saw too many people arrive in Australia in too short a timeframe, leading to significant pressure on essential services.

"We had more than half a million people inside 12 months in that space of time," Minns said in an interview. "Now I know what was happening at the time is the federal government was trying to juice up the economy, get the joint rolling, because we'd just gone through Covid. But it put massive pressure on the housing market, on our hospitals, on our emergency departments."

The Albanese government is reportedly aiming to reduce overall migration to a target of 225,000. Government figures indicate that net overseas migration was 306,000 in the 2024-25 period, a decrease from 429,000 the previous year and significantly below the post-pandemic peak of 538,000 recorded in 2022-23.

"So I feel like federal governments have got a responsibility, and they're doing it, to say, 'No, this is how many people we're letting in, and we're going to enforce the rules so we hit that number'," Minns said, acknowledging the need to balance migration with its impact on public services.

Minns emphasized his commitment to representing New South Wales, even when it requires taking a different stance from his party colleagues. This is not the first instance of Minns publicly disagreeing with the federal Labor government. He has previously expressed criticism of the federal Labor government's tobacco tax, suggesting it is too high and has inadvertently fueled criminal enterprises.

Minns's comments on immigration and tobacco tax come amid a pattern of the NSW Premier differentiating himself from federal Labor on several policy issues. He has previously supported calls from Pauline Hanson and the federal Coalition to reduce tobacco excise and has clashed with Treasurer Jim Chalmers over GST arrangements. Reports suggest some NSW Labor MPs advocate for Minns to create further distance from Albanese, particularly in anticipation of the 2027 state election, believing it could benefit the party's electoral prospects, especially in regional areas affected by cost-of-living pressures.