Australia to Tighten Immigration Requirements

story

Dec 11, 2023

Image copyright: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images News via Getty Images (Aug. 28, 2023)story last updated Dec 12, 2023

The Facts

The Australian government has announced plans to cut the number of new immigrants by half in less than two years, in an effort to improve the country's "broken" immigration system. The government hopes to reduce the yearly intake to 250K by June 2025.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neill told reporters on Monday that Australia would tighten visa requirements for international students and low-skilled workers to bring immigration back to pre-pandemic levels.

The Spin

Left narrative

This decision was made out of necessity. Australia is experiencing an unprecedented housing crisis. The population growth rate has increased by 39 percent this century (+7.4 million), while investment has fallen, driving up rents and increasing the number of people living in group housing. More Australians are being driven into homelessness. Given this context, fine-tuning immigration numbers to calibrate for economic needs is a smart move by the labor-focused Albanese administration.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Right narrative

This strategy, which aims to reduce net migration by 250K people, lacks an end goal and a timeframe for completion. In essence, the strategy is unserious. The plan does not state how the government will accomplish this reduction in four or five years. The Albanese government just keeps saying that it is committed to reducing net migration but has no idea how it will achieve this, which is further complicated by the fact that the administration states that skilled migrant labor is needed in Australia's economy. This policy needs better focus.