A majority of Australians believe immigration levels are too high at a time when our trans-Tasman neighbour New Zealand begins slashing its intake of foreigners.

The Newspoll survey of 2068 people, published in The Australian on Monday, had 56 per cent of respondents declaring Australia's annual intake of 190,000 was too high with just 28 per cent saying it was about right.

Both major parties in Australia are committed to an all-time high permanent immigration level as New Zealand's minority Labour government, led by Jacinda Ardern, embarks on a promise to slash net immigration by more than 40 per cent.

A majority of Australians believe immigration levels are too high, as New Zealand embarks on slashing its intake of foreigners (Sydney's Pitt Street Mall pictured)

The Newspoll survey, published in The Australian, had 56 per cent of respondents declaring Australia's annual intake of 190,000 people was too high (Sydney's city centre pictured)

The small Pacific nation's 37-year-old prime minister campaigned during last year's election to drastically cut the net annual immigration rate from 72,000 to 42,000.

Millionaire businessman Dick Smith, who spends his own money campaigning to reduce Australia's immigration intake, predicted the Australian Labor Party was more likely than the Coalition to slash immigration.

'I have no doubt before the next election one of the parties will astutely announce it's going to have a sensible immigration policy and they'll be elected,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Monday.

'It's most likely Labor because if you bring immigration back to 70,000 - what it was at Paul Keating's time - you can still do any amount of family reunion so that would give them the ethnic vote.

New Zealand's Labour PM Jacinda Ardern (pictured with her boyfriend Clarke Gayford at Buckingham Palace in London) is embarking on a promise to slash immigration by 40 per cent

'Most of the ethnic community are concerned about the fact that there's traffic gridlock destroying Australia - they're just as concerned as anyone else.'

During the early 1990s, when Paul Keating was Labor prime minister, Australia's net annual immigration intake hovered around the 20th century average of 70,000.

However, returning to that level would require a 63 per cent reduction to Australia's current immigration pace of 190,000 per annum.

Former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott is the highest profile proponent on the Coalition side of slashing Australia's immigration intake - despite his own record as PM - with no current Labor politicians echoing his call.

'We're adding a city the size of Adelaide to our population every five years and I think that we should very significantly scale it back, at least until infrastructure, housing starts and integration have caught up,' he told Sydney radio 2GB's Ray Hadley on Monday morning.

Millionaire businessman Dick Smith predicted the Australian Labor Party was more likely to slash immigration than the Coalition

However, Dick Smith said the conservative side of politics was more swayed by the business lobby's push to maintain high immigration levels in order to boost demand and suppress wages growth.

'The reason it would be harder for the Liberals is they are basically financed by wealthy people and wealthy people are the only people who benefit from more Australians - you become wealthier,' he said.

The electronics chain founder and adventurer said company bosses were under pressure to keep 'enormous immigration' so there was more demand for their products.

'If you're on a board or you're the managing director of a company, you have to have endless growth, endless profit growth or you will get the sack,' he said.

'The greed of the system, completely unsustainable.

'Overpopulation will destroy Australia.'

Mr Smith said Pauline Hanson's One Nation would pick up votes from the major parties unless they changed their immigration policies.