Australia’s net migrant intake would be slashed to about a third of current levels under a coalition plan as it bleeds votes to the anti-immigration One Nation.
The coalition would reduce net overseas migration from its current, annual level of nearly 300,000 people to about 100,000 in the first year if it won the next election, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor announced on Tuesday.
Net migration would then settle at 160,000 per year after four years, below Labor’s target of 225,000 per year but still higher than One Nation’s goal of 130,000.
The Coalition would also halve the refugee intake from 20,000 to 10,000 people a year.
‘What we are proposing today is the biggest cut to immigration in the history of this country,’ he said.
‘That is what is necessary right now given the failures of the Labor government.’
The rise of Pauline Hanson’s party in the polls has hollowed out the coalition’s voter base and brought migration to the fore of the political discourse.
The coalition’s plan echoes parts of One Nation’s proposal, including forcing prospective migrants to go offshore to submit a new visa application.
Australia’s net migrant intake would be slashed to about a third of current levels under a coalition plan as it bleeds votes to the anti-immigration One Nation
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson claims the Liberals are stealing her policy
The policy is expected to curtail so-called ‘visa hopping’ by preventing migrants who have come to the end of their visa from applying for a new one in Australia and filing appeals to extend their stay.
As a result, bridging visas would be virtually eliminated.
‘We will regain control of our borders, we will regain control of immigration in this country, and we will ensure that immigration policy is in the interests of our great country and no one else,’ Taylor told reporters in Sydney.
The plan would reduce the stock of temporary visa holders – excluding New Zealanders – by around 650,000 over four years, while boosting the federal budget by around $260 million, according to the coalition based on undisclosed estimates produced with the help of the Parliamentary Budget Office.
Taylor said the cuts to migration would have a positive impact on the economy by better targeting the skills Australia needs and bringing in more skilled workers.
But the coalition will not produce costings until closer to the 2028 election, once further forecasts to net overseas migration are confirmed by the government.
Temporary graduate visas would be abolished and student visas would be cut from 528,800 in 2025/26 to 456,200 in 2031/32.
The humanitarian intake would be halved to 10,000 per year, and onshore applicants will have a maximum of 30 days to lodge an application.
The Liberals have been struggling amid the rise of One Nation as Aussies seek an alternative to the major parties
Working holiday maker visas, which are highly relied upon by farmers and regional communities, will be cut by 23,700 by 2031/32, while fees would be raised for those coming to non-regional areas.
But the coalition will introduce an extra 15,000 skilled visas for major projects and a new agriculture visa from 2030.
Family reunion visas will be unchanged.
The coalition will also draw up a list of safe nations to limit the number of vexatious protection visa claims.
Senator Hanson said the coalition was planning to build more homes than bring in more people to compete for them.
‘The coalition has turned up late to the grand final after both teams have headed back to the change rooms, waving a photocopy of One Nation’s immigration policy,’ she said.
‘Who trusts the major parties that created this mess to fix it anyway?’
