Sydney and its surrounds need to slash immigration by half to counter worsening congestion in Australia’s most populous state, politicians said Wednesday. The number of foreigners arriving in New South Wales annually had ballooned from about 45,000 in the early 2000s to nearly 100,000 today, said state premier Gladys Berejiklian — herself the daughter of Armenian migrants. The figure accounts for more than half the total flow of people into Australia, she added. “I’m saying, take a breather because the rates (of immigration) have gone through the roof,” she told local media. The population of the Sydney region has grown by around 25 percent since 2011 to reach 5.4 million, out of a national population of 25 million. Published in Daily Times, September 11th 2018.