The plan would cut temporary visas by 650,000 over four years and halve the humanitarian intake. Business leaders warned of economic risks.
Opposition Coalition leader Angus Taylor has announced a plan to cut Australia’s net overseas migration to 100,000 a year in the first two years of a possible Coalition government. The target would rise to 160,000 by the fourth year. Net overseas migration currently stands at about 292,000. Taylor called the proposal the biggest cut to immigration in the country’s history and said Australia should be “a home, not a hotel.”
Temporary visa holders would bear most of the reduction. The Coalition says it would cut temporary visas by 650,000 over four years, abolish temporary graduate visas and require some visa applicants to leave Australia before applying for another visa. The party says this would virtually eliminate bridging visas. It would also halve the humanitarian intake to 10,000 people a year and add 100,000 skilled migrant visas.
Taylor said a greater focus on skilled workers would make the policy budget-neutral and strengthen the economy. The Coalition estimates its overhaul would generate A$260 million over four years. The report did not include independent economic modelling to substantiate that estimate. Andrew McKellar, chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, warned that cuts on this scale could harm the economy and would not solve skills shortages. He urged politicians to focus on workforce gaps, regulation and taxes.
Coalition home affairs spokesman Jonno Duniam said a Coalition government would fund the Home Affairs Department to clear a backlog of more than 400,000 bridging visa applications. The party would also repeal Labor’s cap on working holidaymakers staying longer than a year and instead charge higher fees for each additional year. Backpackers who complete regional farm work would have the fee waived for their second and third years.
The proposal enters a debate involving the Coalition, the Labor government and One Nation. Labor aims to reduce net overseas migration to 225,000 within two years. One Nation has proposed negative net migration for three years, meaning more departures than arrivals. Business representatives reject what they describe as a false choice between fewer highly skilled migrants and more workers with lower skills.