NSW Premier Chris Minns says the government needs to do more to manage immigration, breaking ranks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
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government → say → Albanese
'In terms of immigration, in the years after Covid, too many people came into the country in too short a space of time,' he told Kyle Sandilands on KSLive.
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he → come → KSLive
We had more than half a million people inside 12 months in that space of time.
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We → have → time
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.
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we → know → Covid
But it put massive pressure on the housing market, on our hospitals, on our emergency departments.'
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it → put → departments
The Albanese government is under pressure to reduce overall migration to its target of 225,000.
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government → reduce → 225,000
Net overseas migration was 306,000 in 2024-25, down from 429,000 a year earlier and well below the post-pandemic peak of 538,000 recorded in 2022-23, according to government figures.
'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.
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NSW Premier Chris Minns appeared on Kyle Sandilands Live, where he discussed his views on immigration
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he → appear → immigration
I appreciate it does have an impact on skilled labour, but you've also got to think about how it can overwhelm services and make it more difficult for people.
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it → appreciate → people
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Minns said he understood the importance of working with party colleagues but was not afraid to take a different position.
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he → say → position
'Even though I'm Labor, it's still my responsibility to get on with them.
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it → get → them
And you can't just go hammer and tongs at each other all day long,' he said.
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he → go → other
'My job's to fight for this state, and I've got to put New South Wales above the Labor Party.'
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I → fight → Party
It is not the first time the NSW Premier has broken ranks with Albanese.
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Premier → break → Albanese
He has previously criticised the Labor government's tobacco tax, an issue he also addressed during Sandilands' program.
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he → criticise → program
'I think that the excise on cigarettes is just too high.
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excise → think → cigarettes
It hasn't worked,' he said.
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he → work → ?
Minns also agreed with Sandilands' suggestion that the policy had made 'a whole criminal enterprise billions of dollars'.
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enterprise → agree → dollars
Mr Minns’ position puts him at odds with Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
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position → put → Albanese
And I think it's driving regular law-abiding people into the black market, which is not where we want them.
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we → think → them
We want them involved in regular commerce,' he said.
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he → want → commerce
On Wednesday, Minns also declined to endorse Canberra's fiscal approach following news inflation rose 4 per cent in the 12 months to August 2026, one day after the Reserve Bank lifted the interest rate.
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Bank → decline → rate
The Premier said he had 'heard the advice from the Reserve Bank of Australia over the last two years that we need to be careful with public funds'.
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we → say → funds
His comments come amid signs of a widening gap between NSW Labor and the federal government as Minns seeks to emphasise his political identity.
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Minns → come → identity
In recent months, the Premier has diverged from his federal colleagues on several policy issues.
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Premier → diverge → issues
He has supported One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and the federal Coalition's push for a reduction in tobacco excise, and publicly clashed with Chalmers over GST arrangements.
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He → support → arrangements
Some NSW Labor MPs would like Minns to go even further.
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Minns → like → ?
The Daily Mail has previously reported that several state MPs believe the premier should put as much distance as possible between himself and the Prime Minister ahead of the 2027 election.
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premier → report → election
They have suggested he adopt a similar approach to former Premier Gladys Berejiklian's decision to keep Scott Morrison at arm's length before the Coalition's victory in 2019.
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he → suggest → 2019
'I wish [Albanese] could stay away,' one NSW Labor MP told the Daily Mail last week.
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The private frustration reflects growing concern within sections of the NSW Labor caucus that the Prime Minister could drag down the party's vote, especially in regional areas where cost-of-living pressures remain acute and support for major parties has softened.
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support → reflect → parties
Those worries have been sharpened by the rise of Pauline Hanson and One Nation, with the party believing it can make significant gains across regional and outer-suburban NSW at the next state election.
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it → sharpen → election
The Aporia
