CANBERRA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- An internal government study has highlighted the economic benefits of Australia's current immigration intake.
The Treasury and Home Affairs Analysis, which was released on Tuesday morning, has allayed concerns about the need to cut immigration, showing new arrivals were benefiting the country's economy, not slowing it down.
The joint research showed skilled migrants were actually adding to Australia's wealth and were in general not living on welfare or robbing local workers of jobs.
It said that Australia's immigration intake between 2014 and 2015 alone would provide 10 billion Australian dollars (7.77 billion U.S. dollars) to the Australian budget over the next five decades.
The report warned of "far-reaching effects" regarding lower economic growth and a lower standard of living in Australia if the current rate of immigration was cut.
The findings came amid a vocal national debate regarding the current annual migration intake of 190,000.
In early 2018, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott called for the limit to be cut to 110,000 migrants per year.
According to the report, migrants boost the Australian economy by up to 1 percent each year, increasing both Australia's overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and GDP per person.
"Migrants deliver an economic dividend for Australia due to current policy settings which favor migrants of working age who have skills to contribute to the economy. This leads to higher rates of workforce participation and likely productivity benefits," the report found.
Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison said the report presented "clear evidence" that the Australian government's current policy provided national benefits.
"In addition to confirming the economic value of our migration program, the report also reinforces the government's decision to continue to focus on planning and managing the impacts of growth, especially through our record investment in public infrastructure," Morrison told Fairfax Media on Tuesday.
It was recently reported by Australian media that Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton had proposed to cut immigration intake from the current 190,000 a year to 170,000, but it was rejected by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Morrison.
