Federal opposition hits out at migration levels as Queensland premier calls for calm
As conservative political parties move to the right on migration, the Queensland premier has reminded them his state needs foreign workers.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli is asking for sobriety in the immigration debate ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics but his call has received immediate pushback from the federal opposition.
Amid calls from federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson for major cuts to migration, Crisafulli spoke in Canberra on Wednesday afternoon to push for investment in his state and called for bipartisanship and a recognition that Australia is experiencing a workforce shortage.
His request was quickly rebuffed by opposition infrastructure spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie who told Capital Brief current levels of migration are unsustainable.
McKenzie acknowledged “parts of regional Australia are desperate for skilled workers”. But she was critical of the current numbers of arrivals and further called for reform of student visas, saying that while universities loved foreign students, “issuing hundreds of thousands of student visas each year has done little to address the skill shortage we need”.
