Peter Dutton confirms discussing migrant intake with colleagues

Peter Dutton has confirmed he discussed changing Australia’s immigration intake with senior colleagues.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has confirmed he discussed changing Australia’s immigration intake with senior colleagues.

Mr Dutton this morning said he supported Malcolm Turnbull’s denial of the revelation, published in The Australian, despite going on to confirm a lot of the story’s content.

The Australian revealed yesterday Mr Dutton proposed cutting Australia’s yearly maximum immigration intake from 190,000 to 170,000.

The report was flatly described as “false” and “completely untrue” by the Prime Minister.

“Of course I support the comments of the Prime Minister,” Mr Dutton said.

“I’ll add to that though, because as you would expect, and as every immigration minister would have, I have canvassed different options around the composition of the program.

“We have huge surges, for example, in the number of international students coming through, which is a great thing for our economy. We have surges in the numbers of visitors coming through, which are both reflected in that figure.

“We need to talk more about the figures and the impact, the economic benefit of tourism, of those international visitors.

“So yes of course I look at different options but the government has taken a decision to set the number at 190,000, I think it has been roughly that since about 2012.”

Mr Dutton denied Mr Turnbull lied yesterday when he said the Home Affairs Minister had never canvassed lowering the immigration numbers.

“That is not the way to interpret it at all, I saw the Prime Minister’s comments yesterday ... and I fully support his comments. There is no point of difference between the Prime Minister and I,” Mr Dutton said.

Mr Dutton would not say who he canvassed the immigration changes with.

He also refused to say if Mr Turnbull was aware of his proposals but said he had “hundreds of conversations” with the Prime Minister about immigration.

“I am not getting into who said what at what meeting, where it was, who was sitting in the meeting and the rest of it,” he said.

“I don’t comment, I never have on cabinet or other gatherings but as you would expect, of course the government canvasses what the program numbers should be, we do that each year.

“There is obviously a debate about congestion and about housing affordability, the government is alive to all of those concerns.

“About the geographic placement of people trying to attract people out to the regions, they are all issues we consider.

“I have had hundreds of conversations with the Prime Minister and the Treasurer about taxation and about welfare, about immigration, all of that, as you would expect us to.”

The Australian reported this morning that three ministers confirmed there was a meeting about reducing the migration levels in a rebuke to Mr Turnbull’s claims.

When asked yesterday if Mr Dutton had canvassed lowering the immigration levels, Mr Turnbull said: “The story on the front page of — I’m so glad you asked that — the story on the front page of The Australian today about migration and the cabinet is completely untrue. It’s false. It’s completely untrue.”

The Australian has not reported that the discussion was held in cabinet.

Bill Shorten called the government’s immigration debate a “moving feast” but he would not give a view on whether the intake should be lowered.

“Immigration is becoming a political football where every wannabe prime minister in the Liberal Party takes different views and none (of it) is helping Mr Turnbull in my opinion,” the Opposition Leader said.

“I don’t want immigration treated by them as political football.”