Labor's Immigration Scam

A precedent-setting change to immigration policy is currently before the Senate.

I’m raising this crucial matter because we are being asked to contemplate replacing a merit-based system with a lottery on working visas.

However this is more than a profound departure from decades of immigration policy.

Labor is deceitfully opening yet another back door to permanent residency for yet more people this country is unable to accommodate.

The Albanese government may be a side show, but our immigration system shouldn’t be run like a chook raffle or lucky dip.

This also flies in the face of Australian community sentiment about immigration numbers – our people overwhelmingly support much lower immigration levels.

Australians are angry about Labor ignoring their views on immigration.

They are screaming about it, because increasing numbers of Australian families are facing increased mortgage payments, higher rents and homelessness thanks to the high demand driven by Labor’s immigration policies.

It will put more undue pressure on our health and education systems, on our public infrastructure, on wage growth, and on our welfare system.

This legislation would first put working visa applicants in a lottery, and only afterwards require them to demonstrate they were being sponsored into a job.

This is the reverse of what should be in place.

However, even worse is that people from Pacific Island nations will be given opportunities to bring their families with them if their working visa application is accepted.

Their families will be able to access benefits and student funding.

There are a few serious problems with this approach.

Most of these people come to Australia for seasonal agricultural work.

After the season’s over, there is no more work so they go home and take their earnings with them.

Allowing them to stay permanently means many of them will end up depending on our welfare system when the season’s work dries up.

It would also drain these island nations of skilled workers, hurting their economies.

The Cook Islands have already signalled this problem with Labor’s legislation, and I expect others may follow suit.

Labor claims this is part of its broader engagement strategy for nations in the Pacific.

I have to say something about some of these nations.

Australia gives them a huge amount of foreign aid, assistance after natural disasters and assistance to improve poor governance.

We have even committed military and police forces in times of conflict and unrest.

In exchange, these nations beat us up over Australia’s 1% of global human carbon dioxide emissions.

The irony is, they go to communist China for money for infrastructure and say nothing about that country’s 30% of global emissions.

When China calls in this debt, they will again come to Australia screaming for help.

And I will say no.

I will say: you made your bed and you can lie in it.

It was announced this week that China is going to reboot and re-invigorate its so-called ‘belt and road’ initiative, so we can look forward to more of this hypocrisy in Pacific diplomacy.

This new policy is a scam.

One Nation is the only party that stands with the majority of Australian people in demanding a substantial reduction in our immigration levels.

It forms a critical element of our signature policy to end the housing and rental crisis, which continues to get worse under Prime Minister Albanese.