Australia’s Liberal-National Coalition Proposes Immigration Cuts

The Liberal-National Coalition, led by Taylor, has proposed a major overhaul of Australia's immigration policy, aiming to cut temporary visas by over four years and reduce annual net overseas migration to 100,000 for two years, which is approximately one-third of the current rate. This proposal arises amid increasing anti-immigration sentiment in Australia, driven by high living costs and housing shortages.

The Coalition faces pressure from the far-right One Nation party, which has outperformed it in recent polls and has pledged to cut temporary migration by 750,000 over three years. Under the Coalition's plan, humanitarian visa places would be halved to 10,000, and international student enrollment would be limited to 240,000, while the temporary graduate visa program would be abolished.

Additionally, the Coalition intends to increase temporary skilled visas by 100,000 and clear a backlog of construction worker visa applications. This plan exceeds the cuts proposed by the center-left Labor government, which aims to reduce annual net migration to 225,000 by 2028.