Government cuts migrant intake, directing skilled migrants away from major cities

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has ripped into Prime Minister Scott Morrison after he announced a plan to cap immigration at 160,000.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has slammed the government’s announcement that it will cap immigration numbers as dog-whistling.

Mr Shorten did not take issue with the policy itself, saying Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s decision to cap entries at 160,000 was “not exactly earth-shattering” when compared to last year’s 162,000 immigrants.

But he called out the timing of the announcement in the wake of the Christchurch attacks.

“We know there is a bigger debate going on in Australia at the moment and it’s the reaction to Christchurch, to the murder,” he said.

“That wasn’t done by a refugee and it wasn’t done by a first-generation immigrant. It was done by an Australian man, and I don’t think any of us ever thought we’d express the term an Australian homegrown terrorist, going to New Zealand.”

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten in Perth today. Picture: AAP Image/By Rebecca Le May

Mr Shorten said a major lesson to be learnt from the discussion after the fatal terrorist attack that claimed 50 lives was that “the dog-whistling by political leaders about immigration ad asylum seekers must stop”.

“I noticed yesterday the current prime minister wanted to stop the tribalism — he wanted a more moderate debate,” Mr Shorten said.

“Well, the standard you walk past is the standard you accept.

“Dog-whistling about immigration and asylum seekers needs to stop and it needs to stop because the crazies, the extremists, they take comfort when there is approval given to go down this slippery path of starting to bag immigration.”

Mr Shorten made the scathing comments at a press conference at a Perth health facility, and called on members of the media to call out “sleazy attacks” by political leaders as well.

“We all know for a number of years, the slow slide, the sleazy attacks on minorities, the dog whistling, we know it’s been happening, I’m calling it out and I want all of you to call it out too,” he said.

PM ANNOUNCES IMMIGRATION CAP

The federal government is expected to announce policies capping immigration at 160,000 and forcing a portion of skilled migrants to live outside Sydney and Melbourne.

Cabinet has authorised the changes, which would slash the targeted annual intake of permanent migrants by up to 30,000, The Australian reports.

A regional settlement policy would require a certain number of skilled migrants to live for at least five years in cities other than Sydney and Melbourne.

The government will also provide incentives for foreign students to attend universities away from the two major cities, as part of its bid to reduce congestion in Sydney and Melbourne.

The policy announcement will lower targets that were previously in place. The moves have been orchestrated by the Liberals’ Expenditure Review Committee (ERC) and are part of the government’s broader population policy.

There will also be incentives for international students to study at regional universities or at cities other that Sydney and Melbourne. Last year over 500,000 students from overseas attended Australian universities.

The immigration cap is aimed at easing congestion in Sydney and Melbourne. The final number of 160,0000 was reached after the ERC had argued for a much lower number, according to The Australian.

The migration policy will affect the government’s budget estimates, as population growth from migration is linked to economic growth. The coalition last placed a cap on migration in 2015 at 190,000.

About 70 to 80 per cent of new migrants choose to move to either Sydney or Melbourne.

In the past financial year 112,000 skilled migrants arriving in Australia had chosen to permanently settle in Sydney or Melbourne. In total Australia took in 162,417 new migrants in the 2017-2018 financial year.

The lowering of the intake is due to Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton’s integrity measures around visas, which were introduced after debate around congestion issues in capital cities.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton last year introduced integrity measures to manage population growth.

After Mr Dutton introduced the integrity measures, visa refusal jumped by 46 per cent. There was also a 17 per cent rise in visa applications being withdrawn under the greater scrutiny.

While NSW and Victoria have been calling for cuts to immigration, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison called on the states to make submissions on how many migrants they could accommodate, South Australia signalled it wants 5000 more as it strengthens its economy.

The Federal Infrastructure Minister Alan Tudge said last year that planning measures would need to be implemented to manage changing patterns of migration in Australia. He said in October unplanned population growth had led to an imbalance in the rates of settlement across the country.

“Overall, the costs of congestion to the economy are already great, and rising steeply,” he said in October last year.

“This is a serious challenge for families and a serious economic challenge for the nation. There was insufficient infrastructure built in the early 2000s, particularly in Melbourne and Sydney, to cater for forecast growth, let alone the actual growth.”

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian flagged last October the state was struggling with a jump in intake over the last decade, with numbers rising from 45,000 to 100,000.

“We need to take a breather,” Ms Berejiklian said last year.

“Because my government is building more roads and rails, schools and hospitals than ever before in our state. We are playing catch-up and we need to take a breather to make sure that we have that infrastructure in place and to make sure that our population growth is sustainable.”