Assistant Minister Julian Hill says right wing immigration policies held up by ‘vibes and memes’

A Labor MP has accused Australia’s right wing parties of “weaponising issues of race in culture” and keeping their policy platform afloat with “vibes and memes” during a speech at an immigration conference.

Assistant Minister Julian Hill said the Coalition and One Nation are actively participating “in a race to the bottom,” enabling perspectives “untethered from reality” to fester and become a part of current immigration discourse in Australia.

The explosive allegations were made as Mr Hill addressed the Migration Institute of Australia at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney on Friday morning.

“What passes for debate since I last spoke to you has become increasingly unhinged from facts, untethered from reality and uncivil to our fellow Australians, as loud voices scapegoat migrants for all manner of social and economic ills,” Mr Hill said.

“The parties on the right are in a race to the bottom in every sense. Dangerously weaponising issues of race and culture, while pretending they are not, and playing the victim when they’re called out. Desperately outbidding each other over who would make the biggest cuts, costs be damned.

“There’s never any detail of course. No clarity about what will be cut, what the social and economic impacts would be. Which industries will be shut down? Which services will close as our population ages? Which families will never be reunited?”

“There’s no discernible focus on the national interest. It’s all about the vibes and the memes.”

Labor has pledged to reduce net overseas migration to 225,000 by 2027-28, largely through cracking down on “visa hopping”, while One Nation plans to limit it to 130,000 per year after three years of “negative migration”.

The Coalition is expected to announce its policy next week.

Student visa overhaul

Mr Hill’s speech outlined a number of reforms being pursued by the Albanese Labor government in an effort to create a more sustainable migration system.

The new overhauls, some of which come into effect on Friday, focus mainly on the tightening of skilled worker and student visa parameters.

Onshore pathways from temporary visas to student visas have been closed, meaning people working temporarily in Australia will not be able to obtain a student visa while doing so.

Restrictions on students bringing dependent family members are also being limited from Friday, meaning PhD students, scholarship students and students from ASEAN and Pacific Islands are now the only people eligible to bring family members over under their visas.

“Families already in Australia will be grandfathered as an exception. The government is not in the business of breaking up families already here,” Mr Hill said.

“Australia welcomes genuine students seeking a premium Australian education, but the government will not back down from seeking to manage the size and shape of the onshore student market.”

Mr Hill said two new Ministerial Directions came into effect last week, “sharpening the focus of the skilled migration program”.

“Priority is now being given to healthcare, construction, teaching, resources, agriculture, aquaculture and fishing, helping direct skills to the parts of the economy where they are needed most,” he said.

The government is also reforming the points test to “lift the standard, better recognise high-demand skills”.

“In short, we’re using scarce skilled migration places strategically, to deliver the greatest benefit for Australia’s economy and workforce,” he said.

“We will support housing construction through a points boost for individuals with skills and qualifications in the trades necessary for home construction.

Mr Hill also outlined plans to crack down on migrant agents, lawyers and others who try to game the visa system.