The Sydney Morning Herald reported on May 12 that the record number of international students applying for student visas in Australia has cast doubt on Labour's commitment to reducing the number of international students.
The latest data from the Bureau of Statistics showed that the number of domestic student visa applications rose to 35,000 in March. In the past two years, the number of domestic student visa applications has typically ranged from 9,000 to 20,000.
The Coalition used the data to warn that an increase in the number of existing visa holders seeking to extend their stay could offset Labour's efforts to slash the number of students entering Australia.
Dan Tehan, a spokesman for immigration in the opposition, warned that there would be an increase in the number of bridge visas and fake asylum applications. "If you look at Canada, the number of international students seeking asylum will only continue to grow."
(Image source: The Sydney Morning Herald)
The number of visas approved in March was less than 7,000, down from 18,000 in the same period last year, according to the statistics bureau.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday that he had cut international student enrolments "with a clear conscience" to protect public confidence in the migration program, which would benefit both the Australian economy and culture.
"We've seen cases where people come here not for the motivation and purpose of getting an education and improving their skills, but to ...... Coming here first, and then reapplying for a visa in a different way, we are ready to crack down on these practices. ”
Immigration and homeownership will be at the heart of opposition leader Peter Dutton's budget response speech, where he will put forward an anti-"Greater Australia" perspective, linking issues such as inflation, housing, social tensions, crime and immigration, according to a number of senior Coalition sources.
(Image source: The Sydney Morning Herald)
The shadow cabinet is weighing whether to unveil its net overseas migration target in Dutton's speech next Thursday night – which will be lower than Labour's 250,000 – with the final decision to be made after Treasurer Jim Chalmers unveils the budget on Tuesday.
Labor has repeatedly accused former Prime Minister Scott Morrison of easing visa rules, a move called by business lobby groups to fill the shortage of workers, which has roughly doubled Australia's net overseas migration.
Abul Rizvi, a former deputy undersecretary for immigration, said the surge in student numbers caught the Labour Party off guard.
The increase in domestic student visa applications is partly due to the Morrison government's termination of pandemic visas that allowed more than 20,000 international students to work without restrictions. The reluctance of business groups to terminate the visa prematurely because it could exacerbate the shortage, underscores the economic trade-offs inherent in immigration policy.
(Image source: The Sydney Morning Herald)
Tehan said it was clear that Home Secretary Clare O'Neil would not be able to deliver on his promise to reduce the number of migrants to 375,000 for the current fiscal year.
Back in 2022, then-immigration minister Andrew Giles boasted that the Labour Party would speed up visa approvals and reduce the backlog. He never mentioned the need to enforce immigration in good faith, and now Australians are paying the price. ”
"We're facing a housing crisis, a rental crisis and a cost-of-living crisis, while Labour has brought in nearly 1 million additional migrants in two years."