South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has launched a passionate defence of migration, saying that slashing the migrant intake is “bad economics” and will worsen existing problems rather than fix them.

Delivering a speech at Sydney Institute recently, he pointed to South Australia as a case study, saying that skilled workers from overseas are crucial for major projects like AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines, the Olympic Dam expansion, aged care, and artificial intelligence.

Premier Malanauskas said that Australia faces a housing crisis rather than a migration crisis, and criticised mainstream political parties for engaging in a “race to the bottom” to appease One Nation.

He warned that trying to appease populist migration demands by drastically slashing numbers will damage the economy and democracy, noting that groups like One Nation will never be satisfied.

“More troubling is the prospect of mainstream politics entering a political race to the bottom for who can cut migration numbers the most. This is madness,” Premier Malinauskas said.

“If politics becomes the principal determinant of migration policy and a numerical race to the bottom ensues, it is going to hurt every Australian economically.

“In the next three years, the number of Australians over the age of 70 is Going to go from 3.5 million to more than 4 million. And from 20230 onwards that pace of growth only accelerates. In less than ten years, the over-65s will outnumber the under 15s for the first time in our history.

“If the number of people leaving our workforce exceeds the number of people coming into it, our expenses grow, our income falls – we have less and,less capacity to generate the resources we need.

“Skilled migrants arrive job ready, now at a relatively low cost. A primary skilled migrant delivers a net benefit of about $415,000 to government finances over their lifetime in Australia, while the average native-born Australian costs the government around $85,000,” he said.

Premier Malinauskas said housing construction, education and the health service also relied on migrants.

“Want more affordable housing? We need more sparkies, tilers, roofers and bricklayers. Want Mum and Dad to get an aged care bed? We need more trained care workers,” he said.

“If you value public education and Medicare but worry about government debt, migration helps pay for it. It’s that simple.

“Skilled migrants are big net taxpayers. Not only is immigration not a drain on our public services, migration is part of the reason governments can afford to pay for those services.” Premier Malinauskas said.

He said here could be no greater act of national self-harm that cutting migration and that the recent calls for cuts were sparked by the rise of populist politics.

“Anti-immigration sentiment is clearly rising in our community. Populist parties are cashing in. Immigration has not become such a flashpoint this year because Australia is a racist country.

“There are bigots in any society, in any century. But that doesn’t explain what has changed in politics and polls so dramatically in recent months.

“Instead, our people are rightly worried about their economic future. That’s not prejudice. It’s a perfectly understandable response to a challenging economy,” he said.

The high-profile national address in Sydney has further fuelled speculation about a potential future move by Malinauskas into federal politics.