Tony Burke to finally unveil Labor’s contentious immigration policies to cut net overseas immigration

The Home Affairs Minister has declared Australia’s net overseas migration levels must come down as he prepares to unveil Labor’s long-awaited overhaul to the immigration system, including plans to crack down on visa overstayers.

Tony Burke will detail the government’s contentious new policy on Thursday in a speech to the National Press Club titled: “The work of managing the migration program: who arrives, who stays, who leaves.”

He had been due to announce the shakeup at the same venue a month ago but was forced to abruptly delay his appearance because of a disagreement inside Cabinet over the details, allowing One Nation and Coalition to instead promote their own proposals.

The Nightly on Monday foreshadowed Mr Burke’s speech would finally occur this week and revealed that that Cabinet had recently discussed whether Labor’s new policy should include more US-style green card visa lotteries.

A senior government source confirmed the Albanese government has discussed increasing the number of visa classes where applicants would pay to enter a ballot system, as already applies to temporary migrants from China, India and Vietnam.

Facing growing political pressure from One Nation and the Coalition, Labor is working to reduce the net overseas migration rate from the current level of about 300,000 people a year, to the Budget targets of 245,000 this financial year and 225,000 the following year.

Asked during Question Time on Wednesday about the impact of recent changes to visa processing rules and the consequences for rural communities, Mr Burke told Parliament he was aware of concerns, but the net migrant intake had to come down.

“To be able to work through this, we need to be able to make sure that we deal with the numbers — we need to make sure that we deal with the numbers overall and do so in a sensible, targeted way that provides the easiest pathway through for the Australian economy”.

“We do need to get net overseas migration down, we do,” Mr Burke said in response to Independent MP Helen Haines.

Negotiations on immigration changes between Labor and the Coalition have recently broken down, and on Thursday Mr Burke indicated the government will push ahead with policies that require regulatory changes only, rather than any legislation.

“The best form of outcome there will be if we are able to sort our way through for a legislative option. In the absence of that, there are still more levers the government will be able to use and I’ll be making those announcements tomorrow.”

Labor sources say the focus of Mr Burke’s speech on Thursday is expected to be on how the government will reach its current migration targets, rather than lowering the ceiling on net overseas migration.

Earlier this week One Nation also announced its own policy, vowing to “reset Australia’s immigration system” by slashing the number of temporary visa holders and unlawful non-citizens by more than 750,000 over three years.

Under One Nation’s plan, once the temporary visa population is reduced by approximately 750,000 over three years, a net overseas migration ceiling of 130,000 per year would remain in place and be reviewed yearly.

In Parliament on Wednesday, the Home Affairs Minister also hit back on Opposition attacks over the Prime Minister’s recent call to overrule a planned reduction in Australia’s refugee intake.

Opening Question Time, Opposition leader Angus Taylor asked about Anthony Albanese’s snap decision last month to ditch a reduction in annual refugee levels from 20,000 a year to 13,750 which was included into the May 12 Federal Budget.

“New parliamentary budget officer analysis shows Labor’s Budget assumed the humanitarian immigration intake would fall from 20,000 to 13,750. But on 27 August, the Prime Minister texted an ABC journalist to reverse that position back to 20,000, costing over $7 billion,” Mr Taylor said.

“Did the Treasurer or Cabinet approve this $7 billion decision before the text was sent and where is the money coming from?”

“This government is proud to be part of a generous humanitarian program. We’re proud of that as a well … It’s one of the things we have had for a long time, and can I say the Howard government used to be boast of having a generous humanitarian program,” Mr Burke responded.

“Some things are budgeted for four years and then they automatically come back for consideration and get renewed.”

Ahead of the release of Labor’s immigration overhaul business groups have urged the government to restore confidence in migration policy and certainty to employers on workforce and skills.

“We do not have a migration problem in Australia; we have a housing crisis and skill shortages,” Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Andrew McKellar said.

“Those are the problems we need to fix. Shortsighted approaches that damage the economy won’t solve them. Those are red lines for business,” he added.

Accommodation Australia Chief Executive Officer James Goodwin warned that any cuts to migration numbers would make it harder for hotels to access the workers needed and would increase competition amongst other sectors.

“I would encourage government to improve the integrity of the existing system before making drastic cuts to particular programs like working holiday-makers,” Mr Goodwin told The Nightly.

“Improve the system by reviewing non-compliance and nuisance claims and this will free up resources to improve visa processing times and reduce reliance on bridging visas.”