“Shuffling people from one part of the market to the other doesn’t improve the overall shortage,it just reallocates it,” he said.

Foreign nationals are generally barred from buying existing property,but can do so in limited circumstances,such as when they come to Australia for work or study. When they leave the country,they must sell the property if they have not become a permanent resident.

Earlier this year,the government announced it would increase fees for foreigners buying established homes,and increase penalties for those who leave properties vacant,while also creating concessions for foreign investment in build-to-rent.

Dutton also pledged to cut the permanent migration intake from 185,000 to 140,000 in the first two years of a Coalition government “in recognition of the urgency of this crisis”. For temporary migration,he said he would reduce excessive numbers of foreign students studying at metropolitan universities – a solution Labor is already broadly addressing.

Coates said it was unclear what exactly Dutton planned to do with student numbers,but driving down permanent migration would have little impact in the first few years. “The rule of thumb is temporary migration drives short-term population trends,while permanent migration drives long-term population trends,” Coates said.

Coates and Tulip said slowing permanent migration would make housing more affordable but would also make the nation poorer,with Tulip pointing to the effects of reducing international education,worth $36.4 billion to the economy in 2022-23.

“If you stifle our export industries,our standard of living goes down,” Tulip said.

Coates said every 10,000 skilled visa holders in Australia meant about $2.5 billion for the economy.

Labor tipped $12.3 billion into new housing programs as part of its budget,part of which includes $1 billion for the states and territories to build roads and other infrastructure needed to support new developments.

Tulip said both sides of federal politics had neglected to focus on the impact of zoning issues in stymying supply.

University of Melbourne professor Peter McDonald,a long-standing expert on population,estimated that cutting the permanent migration program to 140,000 would mean rejecting about 15,000 to 20,000 skilled workers in professions such as nursing,teachers and engineers.

“Cutting the program will lower the employment-to-population ratio which has held up at high levels in Australia for many years. This means more rapid population ageing and fewer workers per dependent,” McDonald said.

The opposition leader said he expected skilled workers to make up two-thirds of the permanent program and family visas to make up the remaining third. “That’s what we would continue to go on,” he said on the ABC’s7:30 program.

Applied to a 45,000 cut to the permanent program,that would mean reducing about 30,000 skilled visas and 15,000 family visas. While Dutton claimed this would make 100,000 homes available for Australians over five years,experts disputed the central assertions in his policy pledge.

Master Builders Australia chief Denita Wawn said construction would suffer if the Coalition policy turned away skilled workers. “We would express caution that if you are going to cut migration,do it in a way that does not curtail the economy. It’s as simple as that,” she said.

Property Council of Australia chief executive Mike Zorbas said there was a case to ease migration levels but that this must not stop the arrival of skilled workers.

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