Australia's three main parties unveil migration policies lacking evidence

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 14 Oct, 20:32 · Archive

Labor, the Coalition and One Nation have announced competing migration policies focused on net overseas migration rather than evidence-based modelling.

Labor, the Coalition and One Nation have all announced migration policies in recent weeks. All three focus on controlling net overseas migration (NOM) rather than pursuing evidence-based planning about what level of migration Australia actually needs.

One Nation has proposed net-negative NOM for three years before rising to 130,000, though the size of the reduction is unstated. The Coalition proposes NOM would fall to 100,000 in its first two years before rising to 130,000 in year three and 160,000 in year four. Neither party justifies these targets through modelling of their impact on labour force, housing and infrastructure, according to The Conversation AU.

Labor's approach frames the problem differently. Crikey reports that the government has adopted new rhetoric blaming temporary migrants who "visa hop" — staying in Australia across multiple temporary visas — for breaking the system. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced major changes making it harder for international students to extend their stay and expanding immigration detention for those whose visas expire. Assistant Minister Julian Hill characterised such migrants as believing they had "some God-given right to hop around from visa to visa".

How it is being reported

• Australia has 3 competing migration policies. The problem? None are based in evidenceOne Nation, the Coalition and Labor have all released migration plans in the last month. How do they compare to one another?The Conversation AU · 14 Oct, 19:56
• Labor’s new migration rhetoric doesn’t bode well for sensible policymakingLabor’s new migration narrative is that that migrants have broken the visa system by refusing to follow unwritten rules. It encourages a theatre of compliance and tough-talk as a substitute for actual policy design. The post Labor’s new migration rhetoric doesn’t bode well for sensible policymaking appeared first on Crikey .Crikey · 12 Oct, 23:38

In this story: Labor · Coalition · One Nation · Tony Burke · Julian Hill · Angus Taylor · Australia

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