Opposition leads calls to slash immigration

From the Courier Mail:

Opposition leads calls to slash immigration in 2009

Clinton Porteous
October 21, 2008 12:00am

PRESSURE is mounting on the Government to slash the immigration intake next year as the global meltdown is tipped to push up unemployment.

Opposition immigration spokeswoman Sharman Stone yesterday urged the Federal Government to ditch past practice and consider cutting new arrivals before the financial year's end.

"It is important they remain flexible because the most important thing to do is look after Australia's own unemployed," she told The Courier-Mail.

This year Australia was due to accept a record 190,000 immigrants for the 12 months to the end of June.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has promised the Government will re-examine the migrant intake in the May Budget, but the Opposition is now pushing for earlier action.

"This Government needs to be watching very carefully the way the economy probably seems to be unravelling in the new year with higher unemployment occurring," Ms Stone said.

*snip*

The migrant intake is usually set in the Budget and locked in for the following 12 months, but the Opposition is calling for a re-think.

Ms Stone said the first step was to examine migrant intake by skill category and then by settlement location.

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard refused yesterday to say what the expected unemployment rate would be by the end of June.

Budget documents estimated a jobless rate of 4.75 per cent, although that was now unlikely.

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