I want to start by saying I really regret the contribution made by Senator Dolega and the offensive imputations that were made in relation to coalition senators and members. It now seems, according to Labor, that it is an offence to drape the Australian flag and be proud of our flag.
I’ll take that interjection, Senator Dolega. That is exactly what you said. You criticised some of us on this side of politics for having the temerity to drape the Australian flag around us, to be proud of our country.
How dare you suggest that is dog whistling! Through you, Chair, how dare Senator Dolega suggest it is dog whistling to be proud of our country and be proud of our flag. So many people want to come and live in our country because we are a great country and we have one the most successful migration histories of any country in the world. We are a proud migrant nation. We are a proud multicultural country with those who have been here for thousands of years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders; those who came to our country decades ago; and recent arrivals. We are a hugely successful multicultural country.
Senator Dolega, you’re only a new senator; you’re reading from Labor’s talking points, but I would ask you to reflect on the way in which you have characterised not just members and senators on this side of the chamber and this side of the political aisle but every Australian who is proud to fly the Australian flag in their backyard or front yard; every local school, RSL or community organisation who is proud to fly the Australian flag; and of course those who want to drape the Australian flag around them—all power to every single Australian who flies our flag and wears our flag with pride.
But the bottom line is—and I do rise to take note of the answer to the question asked by Senator Scarr—that every country has a responsibility to run its migration program in its national interest, and that is not happening under this government. We have seen migration be grossly mismanaged. Senator Scarr spelt out some of the facts in relation to that mismanagement. We know that migration is running out of control. Net overseas migration for the year ending 31 March 2025 was still 315,900. This is approximately 100,000, or 46 per cent, above the 10-year average prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is 91,000 higher than Treasury’s NOM forecast in the last budget for the three years commencing 1 July 2026. It is 80,000 higher than the long-term average assumption of 235,000 used by the Centre for Population. This government has a very bad record of mismanaging migration in the national interest.
And what does that mean? Without having the short-, medium- and long-term migration planning in place—we heard crickets from the responsible minister in this place today; Labor will not fess up what those long-, medium- and short-term targets are—how can we as a nation plan for services, for infrastructure, for what our nation needs, for schools and for hospitals?
When I was in my former role as shadow minister for education, we took a very strong policy to the election: capping numbers of international students at 25 per cent at public universities. That still would have made us one of the most generous countries in the world in terms of welcoming international students. Instead we now see the number of international students running at record levels and getting worse, with the government completely dropping the ball on managing international students, who, as we know, contribute about half of net overseas migration. That is not good enough.