Tyron Whitten (WA, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Minister Watt. How many permanent resident visas for people who have not become citizens are currently issued in Australia, and why isn't this information published routinely?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Whitten. I'm not sure I have that level of detail with me, but I'll certainly seek some guidance on that from the minister's office if we are in a position to provide you with that detail. I'm also not sure that it is correct that that data is not published, so I'll clarify that point as well. If there's any ability for me to come back to you over the course of question time with that information, I'll certainly do so.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Whitten, first supplementary?

Tyron Whitten (WA, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, despite the government promising to cut immigration, the latest Border Force data shows that, after excluding tourists and crew visas, there are 2½ million temporary visa holders in the country on top of permanent visa holders. The latest available data says there could be 1.2 million permanent visas on issue. How many people in Australia right now are not Australian citizens, and how many more or fewer than 3.7 million people is it?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Again, I'll see if I can get access to the specific information that you're seeking. But, given that your question goes to overall migration levels, what I can tell you is that there's been a massive fall in what's known as net overseas migration over the three years since our government was elected. You would have seen from outside the parliament the efforts that we took around international students and a range of other categories. What that has meant is that net overseas migration to Australia peaked at 538,000 in 2022-23—the year after we were elected—obviously based on policy settings that we inherited from the former government.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, that's a fact. And then, as a result of the actions that we've taken over the last three years, the net overseas migration for the 12 months to 31 December 2024 was 341,000—down 37 per cent compared to the peak in the year after we were elected.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Whitten, second supplementary?

Tyron Whitten (WA, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia, including my state of Western Australia, is in a housing crisis. The number of Western Australian households that consider their homes unaffordable has almost doubled in two years. Just 48 per cent of hospital emergency department presentations in Western Australia were seen on time. When will your government keep your promises and stop the mass migration program that is making life harder and more expensive for Western Australians?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Whitten. I couldn't agree more that Western Australia, along with the rest of the country, desperately needs more housing built. Senator Whitten, being a new senator here, you may not be aware that, on numerous occasions in the last three years, the Labor government attempted to pass legislation seeking to build more housing and two of the senators who consistently voted against that legislation were Senator Hanson and Senator Roberts. So I would encourage you—

Hon. Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson and Senator Roberts may no longer have the numbers in the One Nation party room, and I would encourage the new senators to grab the numbers and back Labor as we continue our efforts to build more housing. I'm really encouraged that we finally have a One Nation senator who seems to want to do something about building more homes. Maybe we'll see a change of approach from One Nation compared to what we saw over the last three years. Senator Whitten, we look forward to your support and your new colleague's every time we move those motions in the future.