Poll: Australians Back Deep Cuts to Refugee Intake
New polling shows a clear majority of Australians want tougher immigration and refugee settings, adding pressure on federal politicians to sharpen their policies as the migration debate intensifies in Canberra.
The latest Resolve survey found 62 per cent of respondents support cutting the annual refugee intake from 20,000 to 13,000, while 65 per cent want more government funding directed to enforcing deportations. Almost half of those surveyed, 48 per cent, back banning partner and family visas for international students.
The poll also tested attitudes to Labor's net overseas migration target of 225,000 people a year. Forty per cent of respondents said the figure was too high, 32 per cent considered it about right, and 18 per cent remained undecided.
The results have landed as major and minor parties jostle over migration policy. One Nation used the figures to promote a platform unveiled a day earlier that would push net migration into negative territory. Queensland senator Barnaby Joyce fronted media on the party's behalf after leader Pauline Hanson stepped back from public appearances amid renewed scrutiny of resurfaced podcast comments about the Prime Minister's mother, and remarks in which she described First Nations people as "primitive."
Speaking to the ABC, Joyce said he intended to pursue lower migration numbers regardless of the economic cost, arguing the strength of public sentiment left major parties with little choice but to respond. Pressed on Parliamentary Budget Office warnings about the fiscal impact of sharply reduced migration, Joyce dismissed the concerns, pointing out that the office's officials are not elected representatives.
Both the Coalition and Labor are understood to be finalising their own migration policies. Business groups are urging the Prime Minister to publicly detail his approach rather than leave One Nation to dominate the conversation, warning that a vacuum in government leadership risks letting minor parties set the terms of a debate with major implications for the labour market and broader economy.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Resolve poll found 62% of Australians support cutting the refugee intake from 20,000 to 13,000, 65% want more funding for deportation enforcement, and 48% back banning partner and family visas for international students.
One Nation has proposed pushing net overseas migration into negative territory, a policy explained by Barnaby Joyce after leader Pauline Hanson stepped back from public appearances.
Forty per cent of respondents said Labor's net overseas migration target of 225,000 a year is too high, 32% said it's about right, and 18% were undecided.