Property Council Chief Executive Mike Zorbas said deterioration in the budget position, driven by declining company tax receipts and increased spending on essential services, underscored the need to diversify Australia's economic foundations.
"We need to be honest with ourselves. Growing the pie for all Australians is going to need more, not less, investment and talent from overseas," Mr Zorbas said.
"We will need more, not fewer, young skilled migrants to help us fill our skills gaps, to help deal with our ageing population, and to deliver the tax revenues necessary to support future government programs," Mr Zorbas said.
"Australia must be a magnet for overseas investment if we are to unlock the next wave of homes, offices, retail centres, industrial sites, retirement living, student accommodation, hotels and community, cultural and sporting precincts, and to boost our economic growth and prosperity," he said.
Mr Zorbas said the pressures on the Federal Budget were clear, and that the MYEFO signalled a need for renewed efforts to tackle the housing crisis and unlock the economic potential of our cities and regions.
"We are almost six months into the work to deliver our ambitious National Housing Accord target of 1.2 million well-located new homes by 2029.
"This target is a modest one for a nation as revenue and land-rich as ours, but decades of underuse have left our investment and planning muscles weak.
"Beyond an antiquated tax system, the greatest economic and social cohesion challenge Australia faces in 2025 is creating enough affordable new homes to buy, to rent and for social housing," he said.
