Think Australia would be better off with less migration? The numbers tell a different story

The population is ageing and we're having fewer babies. Labor should keep that in mind as the migration debate rages

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The intergenerational report lays bare how today's growing anti-migration rhetoric clashes with a future where we need to attract people from overseas to help grow the economy and pay for our ageing population.

The replacement" fertility rate is 2.1 children per woman - this is the average number of births to keep the population steady without migration and we've been below this level for 50 years.