Mr Shorten’s call came as former prime minister Tony Abbott claimed Labor was “in the grip of ethnic activists” and urged his Coalition colleagues to back calls to cut total migration numbers, and WA Liberal senator Dean Smith called on Malcolm Turnbull to sanction a wide-ranging Senate inquiry into population policy, arguing the recent reduction in immigration levels does not go far enough to ease community concerns about population growth.
On Friday, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton announced there had been a cut of more than 10 per cent to the annual permanent migrant intake.
A special Newspoll today revealed that 72 per cent of voters support the Turnbull government’s cut to the annual permanent migrant intake to 163,000 last financial year, on the back of a crackdown on fraudulent claims and a sharp rise in visa refusals.
“What the government never talks about in immigration is the out-of-control increase in people coming to Australia with visas which give them work rights,” Mr Shorten said.
“Currently, the government wants a pat on the back that permanent immigration is at about 160,000, but what they don’t tell everyone is that under the Liberals the number of people coming here temporarily with visas that give them work rights in Australia has blown out to 1.6 million people. 1.6 million people right now, in Australia, from overseas, have visas that give them work rights in Australia.”
Mr Shorten’s figure of 1.6 million includes anyone who comes to Australia on a visa that allows them to work, including those with a limit on hours. It also encompasses people with 485 visas, which covers students and allows them to work here for two years after they graduate.
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