Joint media release
Shadow Minister for Education, Senator the Hon Sarah Henderson
Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, Senator James Paterson
Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Hon Dan Tehan MP
The Coalition will oppose the Albanese Labor Government’s chaotic and confused education bill which will fail to fix the migration and housing crisis of the Government’s own making.
The Government’s opening of the floodgates to record levels of international students is fuelling the housing crisis and causing unprecedented chaos in the international education sector.
Since the Albanese Government was elected, the number of international students studying in Australia has almost doubled, from 474,493 international students in May of 2022 to more than 800,000 today.
According to the latest ABS data, net overseas migration is on track to have exceeded 1 million in just Labor’s first two years – a record level, and over 70 per cent more than in any other two year period. In Labor’s first two years just 350,000 dwellings were completed.
Labor’s piecemeal approach does nothing to address the structural issues it has created. The proposed cap in the Education Bill before Parliament will not even touch the sides of this problem.
We cannot support measures which will only serve to compound this crisis of the government’s making. Based on their record so far we have absolutely no confidence the Government is capable of fixing its immigration mess.
Labor simply cannot be trusted on immigration.
Only a Coalition Government can deliver the decisive action needed to reduce migration so that our housing and infrastructure can catch up.
By getting the migration policy settings right, the Coalition can free up more houses for Australians, reduce congestion on our roads, and relieve pressure on existing services which are stretched.