Source : the age
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has insisted that the Coalition’s proposal would benefit the economy by focusing on skilled migration.
“If you have a temporary graduate visa or a student visa, on average, they’re going to give you $7000 to $14,000 of tax income and income economic contribution which is in line with that,” he said
Taylor said a skilled worker brings in $30,000 to the country.
“We are very, very confident that that simple approach – reducing the numbers but raising the standards – ensures that it’s budget neutral and will strengthen the economy, improve productivity, improve competitiveness, improve the skills match we have in our economy,” he said.
Here are the Coalition’s migration policy numbers at a glance:
- Net overseas migration target: 100,000 for years one and two, growing to 160,000 in year four
- 650,000 cut to temporary visas
- 100,000 increase in skilled worker visas
- Halve the humanitarian intake to 10,000
- Reduce the share of foreign students in higher education to below 25 per cent by eliminating onshore temporary graduate visas
Opposition home affairs spokesman Jonno Duniam is detailing how the migration cuts would be made, on top of abolishing temporary graduate visas.
He said the Coalition would halve Australia’s refugee intake to 10,000 people.
The opposition would scrap Labor’s cap on working holidaymakers, instead putting a fee on those wanting to stay longer than a year without doing farm work.
Duniam said construction workers would be prioritised, and there would be no changes to family reunion visas.
He said the permanent migration program would be capped at 185,000 people.
“We’ll also require onshore protection visa applicants to apply for protection within 30 days of arriving in Australia, lest they lose their work rights. We’ll also remove merit reviews for adverse character decisions and, of course, temporary visas and offshore applicants,” he said.
Australia’s music rights body has warned the federal government against “caving to pressure” from US tech giants, as creative groups told a parliamentary inquiry that AI companies must pay to train on Australian work.
Jonathan Carter, chief operating officer of APRA AMCOS, told the Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence on Tuesday that international music publishers were alarmed by reports the government was considering changing the Copyright Act.
He said the change would let AI firms train on the world’s music in Australia with fewer obligations than in the US.
“Foreign investment by AI companies here should be on Australian terms,” he said.
Taylor says the Coalition’s proposed migration cuts will not cost the budget.
“We’ve been working closely with the Parliamentary Budget Office on analysis of our initiatives, and we are confident that this package is budget neutral,” he said.
The party’s home affairs spokesman, Jonno Duniam, said the policy “has thought, and effort, analysis put into it”.
“It is about ensuring our country gets what it needs when it comes to the workforce and the people to do the jobs that we need doing in this country, so that our economy can continue to function,” he said.
Angus Taylor says the Coalition’s migration policy would slash the number of people holding temporary visas by 650,000.
“Australia should be a home, not a hotel. And right now, we’re seeing under Labor a guest-worker economy,” the opposition leader just said at the Sydney press conference.
“As part of that 650,000 reduction, there will be a 100,000 increase in skilled visas, temporary skilled visas” to address skills shortages.
Taylor said the Coalition would eliminate temporary graduate visas “focusing instead on those who are qualified to come to this country on a temporary visa, not a temporary graduate visa, ensuring that we have the people we need, not just the people that are coming from the universities.”
Angus Taylor said the migration policy he is announcing today would bring migration levels below those of the Howard government.
“The net overseas migration numbers will be 100,000 year one, 100,000 year two, going to 160,000 in year four. That will take pressure off roads, off schools, off infrastructure, off houses, and that will ensure that our country has the breathing space it needs after the record levels of immigration under Labor,” the opposition leader said.
Net overseas migration is 292,000, and Labor is trying to bring that down to 225,000 in two years.
“What we are proposing today is the biggest cut to immigration in the history of this country,” Taylor told reporters in Sydney.
He said Australia was a great immigrant nation, but claimed Labor had “lost control of our borders and has lost control of our immigration policy”.
“The reality is that immigration policy under Labor is threatening our way of life, alongside threatening our borders. The integrity of our immigration system has been deeply flawed in the time Labor has been in power.”
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has offered his condolences to the family and colleagues of the soldier who died in a training exercise.
“I want to offer our most heartfelt thoughts and condolences for the family, loved ones, and unit mates of an Australian soldier who tragically died during a training exercise in the Northern Territory yesterday,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“It’s another tragic reminder that our men and women war fighters put their lives on the line, even when they’re not in combat.
“We’re also thinking of the five soldiers injured in this accident. We wish them a full and swift recovery, and our thoughts are with them and their families, who will be supporting them through this very challenging time.”
Sarah Hanson-Young has vowed to fight Pauline Hanson and the “radical right” after losing the Greens leadership contest, declaring progressive forces must unite to prevent One Nation from “wrecking this nation”.
The South Australian senator used her podcast to break her silence on last week’s bruising leadership contest, saying she had been disappointed to lose but would not be “salty” or allow the setback to hold her back.
Her rallying cry was pointedly different from new leader David Shoebridge, who vowed last week to target the Albanese government and replace Labor at the next election.
“The challenge we have right now is to take on the radical right and to stop Pauline Hanson from wrecking this nation,” Hanson-Young said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, and I know many of you, like me, are worried looking around at the state of politics and just going, ‘What the f— is going on?’ I get it.”
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Gay and lesbian soldiers and veterans can now apply to have convictions for homosexual activity wiped from their service records.
They are the last tranche of LGBTQ Australians to be given the right to seek justice on the matter.
An apology will also be issued for the discrimination of LGBTQ Defence Force personnel by the federal government later in 2026, as part of changes announced today.
Ex-soldiers who feel they were moved around or discharged due to discriminatory policies can now ask the military to review those actions and amend their record.
