Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by ministers to questions without notice asked today by me and by Senator Paterson.

I asked a number of very simple questions for which it's reasonable to expect the government has an answer. I asked the government what its short-, medium- and long-term targets are for permanent migration and net overseas migration. I asked these questions in the context of great concern in the Australian community around levels of migration. There was a poll released in the Australian earlier today, and there was also a poll released by the Scanlon Foundation in its social cohesion mapping report, which it puts out every year. In that report the Scanlon Foundation found that 51 per cent of Australians believe that current immigration rates are too high. It was in that context that I asked the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs to simply advise us what the government's short-term, medium-term or long-term targets or ranges are with respect to permanent migration and net overseas migration. And what did we hear? No answer. They refuse to give an answer. They refuse to give a figure. They refuse to give a range.

I asked this question because the relevant minister, Minister Tony Burke, was on ABC's Insiders, and he was asked the same question by David Speers. David Speers asked him, 'Are immigration rates too high?' The minister said, 'Well, they're coming down to appropriate levels,' and then David Speers asked, 'What is an appropriate level?' and Minister Tony Burke refused to give an answer, refused to give a figure, refused to even give a target range, and that is the issue. There is a complete lack of communication with the Australian people with respect to immigration, including immigration levels, in the context of great community concern regarding immigration levels, and it's just not good enough.

I then asked a supplementary question as to multiyear planning with respect to permanent migration. You would think that the government would have a multiyear plan with respect to immigration levels. In fact, in the government's own immigration strategy that was released in December 2023, they say:

New commitment:

Plan migration over a longer-term horizon to better manage the migration intake, with greater state and territory collaboration …

The Government will develop a principles-based, multi-year planning model for permanent migration, to improve collaboration with states and territories on migration settings.

…   …   …

The multi-year planning model will extend the planning horizon of the permanent Migration Program beyond its current 12 months and enable a better planning effort to meet the strategic, structural and long-term challenges that we face as nation and in our cities and regions.

It makes sense. This is the government's own migration strategy, released in December 2023.

What we've found is that the government has abandoned that multiyear planning approach, where it actually provides figures going out not just for the current year but for years 2, 3 and 4. It abandoned that approach. It did not communicate that to anyone. It just abandoned it. It was only after the opposition raised it in estimates that the minister, on the same ABC Insiders program, was forced to explain. And what was his answer for abandoning a multiyear planning approach? Flexibility. He wants flexibility. I ask everyone listening to this debate—with respect to something as important as immigration, in terms of all three levels of government having to plan and coordinate, and with respect to housing supply, infrastructure, service delivery, you've got to have a plan. You've got to have a medium-term plan and a long-term plan, but the government doesn't have any. It has abandoned any attempt to have a medium-term or long-term plan.

Lastly, on transparency, now more than ever Australians need their government to be transparent with respect to immigration policy—now more than ever. And when Tony Burke, the minister, released the permanent migration program for the current year, he put out a media release that had three sentences—less than 100 words. That was the explanation he gave to the Australian people —no explanation with respect to how housing supply, infrastructure or service delivery were being considered. It is not good enough.