Australia news Australia news live: cabinet never discussed cutting refugee intake, Plibersek says; 13-year-old dies from head injuries after Queensland e-scooter crash Boy sustained serious head injuries in single-vehicle crash on Wednesday.
Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP Tanya Plibersek has said cabinet never discussed cutting Australia’s refugee intake after debate and confusion within Labor came into public view this week.
Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP From 2h ago Tanya Plibersek has said cabinet never discussed cutting Australia’s refugee intake after debate and confusion within Labor came into public view this week.
The Financial Review on Thursday reported the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, was planning to cut intake of 20,000 arrivals to 13,750 in 2027-28.
The prime minister declared the figure would stay at 20,000 after Labor MPs and refugee advocates reacted angrily.
Asked on the ABC’s Insiders if the government had considered a cut to the refugee intake, Plibersek said: No, I don’t really know where this story came from.
We reconfirmed our number as recently as a month ago at the national conference.
There was certainly no discussion in cabinet.
She said the 20,000-a-year figure was a “permanent commitment”.
The party’s most recent national conference voted to approve a statement that read: Labor will seek, in the short term, to maintain Australia’s government funded humanitarian intake numbers at 20,000 places per year while also continuing to aspire to achieving 27,000 places per year.
Key events 1h ago Thirteen-year-old dies from head injuries after e-scooter crash 2h ago Cabinet never discussed cutting refugee intake, says Plibersek 2h ago Imports of smartglasses could face government regulation, says Plibersek 3h ago Missing Australian woman Cara Severino found after Nepal floods 3h ago Good morning Joyce suggests One Nation would reject refugees from Nepal if country was judged unsafe Barnaby Joyce has raised the prospect a One Nation government would avoid taking refugees from flood-ravaged Nepal if the department advised Australians to avoid travelling there.
The MP refused to say outright whether One Nation planned to cut Australia’s refugee intake or permanent migration, in an interview on News24.
But he raised the example of Nepal, unprompted, to illustrate the party’s principle for blocking immigration.
Asked if he agreed the refugee program should be cut, Joyce said: The refugee program has got to work within a policy structure we’ve got.
Remember, we’ve clearly stated that if an area, the Department of Foreign Affairs says it’s too unsafe to go there, then it’s unsafe to bring people from there and away from there, like such as places in Nepal.
I presume that the Department of Foreign Affairs says it’s not unsafe to go to Nepal, but I wouldn’t be going there at the moment ...
The government at present only advises Australians to reconsider their need to travel to certain areas within 50 kilometres of central Nepal’s Trishuli River, and to exercise caution otherwise.
Asked if One Nation would hypothetically stop bringing Nepali people here were the department to advise against travelling there, Joyce said: Well, I don’t know what Dfat’s position is right now and whether it covers the whole of Nepal.
I know the Nepalese community have a huge say in sections of our country and the workforce, but they do it [arrive in Australia] within the visa category.
And if they do come in, they’ll be within the Nom [net overseas migration].
Asked “are you happy with the refugee program at 20,000, yes or no,” Joyce said: It fits within the Nom.
That is our policy.
And the refugee policy, it’s not that it’s dispensed, but you can’t come from countries which are dangerous.
Like if you can’t go there, you shouldn’t be coming here.
Earlier, Joyce declined to say what outcome a One Nation government would seek for permanent migration, a different measure.
He declined to say even whether it would be below Labor’s target of 180,000.
I would suggest, Andrew, very, very strongly that it would be, but I’m not going to go into the sort of the, you know, the, the, the peculiarities of what two numbers make up net.
