Tony Burke, Australia's Minister for Home Affairs, announced that he will take a tough stance against individuals who overstay their visa in the country as part of implementing new changes to immigration laws. These changes will particularly prevent families of international students from traveling to Australia with them, and the duration of stay for backpackers (low-cost tourists) will also be limited.
Reviving Control Over the Immigration Program
Burke described these changes as a new phase in immigration policies that give the federal government greater control over sections of the immigration system during his speech at the National Press Club (NPC) in Canberra on Thursday. He stated that the aim of these changes is the "integrity" of the immigration program and emphasized that these measures are designed to meet the projected figures in the budget for "net overseas migration" (NOM). These figures will be equivalent to 245,000 people this year and 225,000 people in the next financial year.
Read more: The U.S. has deployed a space weapon in Earth's orbit
Burke, referring to the existing challenges in the housing sector in Australia, said that these projections are considered as targets to be achieved. According to new statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, net migration to the country has decreased to 292,100 in the year ending March. He called the claim that Australia is a country with mass immigration "meaningless" and warned that a sharper decline in "net migration" would harm the economy.
Response to Other Parties' Immigration Plans
This news comes from the Labor Party as the One Nation party has unveiled plans to bring net migration (NOM) to a negative level for three years and then stabilize it at 130,000. At the same time, the ruling coalition is finalizing a plan expected to target the migrant population between 150,000 and 170,000. In response to the question of how he can convince public opinion that the government's higher target is the right move, Burke said the reason is that lower levels of immigration would destroy services and the economy of Australia.
In addition to immediate changes in visa regulations, Burke also mentioned other areas that the Labor Party is willing to legislate on. He criticized the One Nation party's policy of preventing the entry of spouses and children of skilled migrants to Australia, noting that about half of doctors and construction workers, along with their families, have come to this country. He said, "Imagine half of the construction workers we need to build the homes we require do not come here."
Read more: Dr. Alshleimi: Normalizing our relationship with Israel due to Iran is close · Reverse migration to villages: a new social phenomenon
