Coalition plans to cut immigration if it wins the next election would leave Australia with a skills shortage and slow economic growth, Trade Minister Simon Crean says.
The opposition wants to cut migration levels in a bid to stop the population surging to 36 million by 2050, as forecast by Treasury.
Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison on Tuesday told ABC Radio that overall migration figures, about 300,000 a year, are "out of control".
A coalition government would cut that figure, which includes temporary students and workers, if elected to government, he said.
Mr Crean said productivity could slip if Australia did not continue to invest in skills and, in the meantime, provide a skill base to keep the economy growing.
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"We can't afford to deny our economic opportunities if we're to cut off opportunities to (fix) skills shortages," he told reporters in Canberra.
"People calling for cuts to immigration programs ought to understand how the economy is functioning.
"I think the opposition is showing ... an appalling understanding of the way the economy works. "This is another example of their misunderstanding and their misinterpretation of the facts."
