Government in 'full panic mode' over regional migrant push, ex-official warns

A former senior immigration official has questioned aspects of the federal government’s regional migration push after Perth and the Gold Coast became eligible for the scheme.

Former immigration official Abul Rizvi at a Senate Committee Hearing. Source: DIG

The federal government is in “full panic mode” over its central immigration policy aimed at encouraging more migrants into regional areas, according to a former senior immigration official.

From 1995 to 2007 Abul Rizvi was a deputy secretary of the Department of Immigration, where he oversaw the management of the permanent migration program.

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