One Nation migration plan to cut students and migrant worker families

One Nation has unveiled its plan to slash immigration by 750,000 places over three years, with major cuts targeting international students and the families of skilled migrants.

Student visas would be capped at about a third of the current intake, dipping to just over 100,000 places per year, with a new visa category created, similar to US President Trump’s so-called “genius visas”, for “high-value” students. Visas for families of both international students and skilled migrants would be cut to zero, and visa overstayers would be banned from Australia for life if they fail to exit.

The policy goes further than the party initially indicated, with migration levels going backwards for the first three years in what the party is calling “net-negative migration” to give Australians “breathing space”. The party would then pursue a “ceiling” of 130,000 in the net overseas migration program, to be reviewed year on year.

Even though Hanson claimed this plan is for solving the housing crisis, Labor frontbench Murray Watt and other MPs said the policy would destroy regional economies and drive the Australian economy into recession, which would include budget cuts for aged care and other industries.