Date set for Labor’s migration plan reveal
Labor’s delayed immigration plan will finally be announced after the government was beaten to the punch by One Nation on releasing key figures.
Labor will reveal how it plans to cut migration numbers after weeks of speculation and delays.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke will speak at the National Press Club on Thursday, more than a month after his initial appearance was cancelled at the last minute, amid disagreement within cabinet about the extent of the changes.
The announcement is expected to detail how Labor will reduce net overseas migration (NOM) from about 300,000 in 2025 to 245,000 in 2026/27 and 225,000 per year thereafter.
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Negotiations between the government and the coalition over migration settings broke down during the last week, with the opposition pushing for deeper cuts to NOM and stronger powers around deportation.
Labor has already tweaked visa processing settings in a bid to bring down the NOM, which has already sparked a backlash from employers.
Farmers say a processing freeze for working holiday maker visas has left them short of staff during harvesting season.
Meanwhile, a slowdown on offshore applications for skilled migrants has put pressure on construction firms trying to find labourers to fix Australia’s housing shortage, Housing Industry Association managing director Jocelyn Martin said.
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“What we’re after is a transparent system that can be relied on, and that is consistent, and that is suitable for the construction industry,” she told reporters on Wednesday.
“A very small portion of skilled migration visas are issued to construction workers at the moment, and I think it’s important that we delve deeper into why that might be, and what are the barriers to that.”
The coalition is working on its own plan to tie NOM to the amount of new homes built, which is currently tracking around 173,000 per year.
Opposition defence spokesman James Paterson said he was looking forward to seeing the detail of Labor’s plan, but was “deeply sceptical about Labor’s ability to deliver”.
“Because for four years they’ve failed to deliver. As for our own policy, we are close to releasing it but we’re actually going to do the work to get it right because we are not the government,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“We are seeking to be the government after the next election and we’re not going to put out a half-baked policy like One Nation has that hasn’t even been costed, the budgetary impacts of which they have no idea.”
Burke’s office has been contacted for comment.
-with AAP
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