Australia slamming the door on lax immigration

Asia Times ^

[FarCenter]

After 12 months in office, a massive blowout in net migration and two major reviews, the Anthony Albanese government will, in 2023 and 2024, embark on a significant overhaul of immigration policies that will bring down Australia’s net migration from its current peak.

From July 1, 2023, the government has undone a range of Covid-19 policy settings. These were implemented by former prime minister Scott Morrison’s Liberal–National coalition government due to pressure from business lobby groups desperate for labor.

The most significant was former immigration minister Alex Hawke’s decision to provide international students with unlimited work rights. That decision drove a record surge in offshore student visa applications in 2022 and to date in 2023.

From July 1, 2023, international students’ work rights are restricted to 48 hours per fortnight from a previous 40 hours per fortnight. This will impact over 610,000 students currently in Australia.

The financial calculations these students will have made – with many of them having borrowed huge sums to pay tuition fees – are unlikely to have allowed for the re-imposition of restricted work rights, a sharply weaker labor market forecast by Treasury, high interest rates and the rapidly rising cost of living.

[AndyJackson]

overhaul of immigration policies that will bring down Australia’s net migration from its current peak.

Slamming the door. Right.

[Right_Wing_Madman]

Australia is dying to get conquered. They have all that empty space and 250 million Indonesians living next door, packed on two small islands. Australia looks like another territory Islam will subjugate.

[Gay State Conservative]

A country the size of the continental US and with the population of Illinois would be a pretty good candidate for a "welcoming" immigration policy. But any such policy would have to be somewhat selective...focused more on Europeans (and maybe Koreans/Japanese) than on Malaysians and Cambodians.

And to those who'd see this and cry "racist" I give you Japan and South Korea...both being about 98% homogeneous and the two most serene and placid large countries on earth.

[Vaduz]

Immigration

How many people does it take to sink a row boat.

NOT A TRICK QUESTION