Right-wing commentators and think tanks owe the ABS an apology after falsely accusing it of censorship and politicisation over migration data, writes Dr Abul Rizvi. LAST MONTH, numerous right-wing media and think tanks accused the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) of censorship and politicisation when it issued this media statement warning against misusing net permanent and long-term movement (NPLT) data. These media and think tanks argued that NPLT movements were virtually identical to net migration and therefore net migration was rising, not falling, as the Prime Minister promised. Based on March quarter 2025 net migration data, it is likely net migration in calendar 2025 will be over 200,000 less than the estimate published by Adam Creighton in The Australian. There is a very real question of where net migration will settle under current policy settings and how that relates to the Prime Minister’s promise to get net migration down to pre-pandemic levels.