Australia will prevent foreign students from bringing partners and children with them while studying and tighten working holiday visa rules, a senior minister said on September 17, as debate intensifies over high levels of migration.
The government’s move follows the hard-right One Nation party’s announcement this week that it would cut the number of temporary migrants by 750,000 over three years to give Australians “breathing space,” as the party has surged in recent polls, according to Reuters.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke rejected suggestions that the changes were politically motivated by One Nation, which promotes an “Australia first” approach and has policies that have drawn comparisons with those of US President Donald Trump.
“It’s simply demonstrably wrong to suspect that somehow this is a recent bit of work done to deal with a political climate - it’s not,” Burke told reporters.
The reforms are expected to reduce annual net migration to around 225,000 by 2028, broadly returning it to pre-pandemic levels from about 300,000 currently. Cost-of-living pressures and immigration have consistently ranked among voters’ top concerns in recent polls.
By Jeyhun Aghazada
