Anthony Albanese aims for migrant shake-up

An Albanese government would overhaul the temporary ­migration program.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese. Picture: Jeremy Piper

An Albanese government would overhaul the temporary ­migration program, prioritise ­regional resettlement arrangements for asylum-seekers and provide humanitarian protection for LGBTIQ people who are facing criminal offences because of their sexuality, according to a draft of Labor’s national platform.

The draft platform says Labor would favour permanent ­migration over temporary migration.

“Labor will restore public confidence in Australia’s temporary migration program and ensure that temporary migration does not adversely affect the employment and training opportunities for Australians, particularly young people who suffer from higher rates of unemployment and ­underemployment,” the draft platform says.

“Labor’s priority is to ensure that job opportunities are offered to local workers first and that temporary migration will never be used as a means to undercut local wages, conditions and training ­opportunities.”

The document also says Labor would encourage skilled migrants to move to regional and rural areas where there are skills shortages.

On combating people-smuggling, the document says Labor would engage with “Australia’s neighbours to address ‘push factors’ by seeking innovative, effective and lawful solutions to the irregular movement of people through the region”.

“Labor aspires to progressively increase Australia’s government-funded humanitarian intake to 27,000 places per year,” the document states. “Labor aspires to ­progressively increase the community-sponsored refugee program intake to 5000 places per year.

“Labor will explore options other than indefinite detention, including third-country resettlement, to deal with refugees with adverse security assessments.”

The document says Labor’s ­humanitarian program would ­accommodate LGBTIQ people who fear persecution.

“The fact that the country the person is fleeing has criminal penalties for engaging in consensual homosexual sex is sufficient of ­itself to establish that fear of persecution is well-founded,” the document states.

The party would try to ensure asylum-seekers are detained for less than 90 days.