EDITORIAL: Labor’s migration plan dances around real problems
When Tony Burke finally stepped up to the podium at the National Press Club on Thursday, there was a sense of anticipation. But what followed was a flat and simplistic plan that pleases few.
When Tony Burke finally stepped up to the podium at the National Press Club on Thursday, there was a sense of anticipation.
One could be forgiven for thinking a curious delay between the mooted and actual announcement about Labor’s long-awaited migration shake-up might have delivered a considered, practical solution to genuine concerns.
But what followed was a flat and simplistic plan that pleases few, offends nobody and fails to deliver meaningful solutions to one of the issues that mobilised an unprecedented number of voters to shift their support to One Nation.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Burke’s lacklustre immigration-lite “no further stay” approach lacks the constitution required to deliver the overhaul the country needs so that its citizens — migrants and all — can thrive.
To help achieve the May budget forecast of bringing Net Overseas Migration to 245,000 this financial year and 225,000 in 2027/28, the government says it will strengthen compliance measures to ensure people without valid visas leave the country.
Instead of trying to restrict who should be allowed the privilege of calling Australia home, Burke will instead focus on visitors — many of them valuable — who should leave.
“The government supports immigration but is opposed to anyone rorting the immigration system,” he said.
“Almost everyone who comes to Australia is a good guest in our country. These reforms are to ensure that our migration system can be better targeted to the current needs of Australia.”
Except it isn’t.
While the skilled migration program will be updated to support priority processing for a range of key sectors, including healthcare, construction and education, there are fundamental flaws in Burke’s plan to introduce a US-style “green card lottery” for backpackers.
Its a cheap shot at fun-makers who are a vital resource for some of our most important and desperate industries, and industry groups are rightly riled.
The National Farmers’ Federation accused the Albanese Government of jeopardising Australia’s food security and farm safety and compromising struggling regional economies.
It summed up an announcement targeting people who fill one in seven farm jobs as “a low blow for farmers and the businesses that produce Australia’s food and fibre”.
Farmers are used to droughts but they weren’t expecting the steady stream of backpackers to dry up.
Meanwhile Tourism Council WA warned the cuts to Working Holiday Maker visas would have a devastating impact on the State days after the Australian Tourism Export Council’s Peter Shelley said visitors on those visas brought “billions of dollars” into Australia’s visitor economy “while also providing the mobile and flexible workforce many Australian businesses need.”
Shortsighted frippery from Labor means Australians will be punished: fewer workers, higher prices and nothing to ease the pressures that come with a population burgeoning unchecked.
It’s a typically non-confrontational approach that doesn’t necessarily augur well for an increasingly friendless government.
