Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the budget, the Prime Minister cruelly cut the non-contributory family visa, which will remove the ability of low-income Australian families with overseas parents to ever be permanently reunited. Why is the Prime Minister punishing low- and middle-income Australian families?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Prime Minister for the opportunity to respond to the question from the member for Corio. Next year's migration program has been set to ensure that we focus on skilled migration. We are ensuring that more than two-thirds of the intake for next year will be for skilled migrants because the best way to ensure the cohesion of our society through our migration program is to focus on skilled migration. One of the great achievements of the Howard government was to ensure that we reversed the low level of skilled intake that we had under the Hawke and Keating governments, which fell to less than 30 per cent. It went to as high as 70 per cent under the Howard government.

I note that that was one of the things that the previous government did not change. If only they took that approach to other immigration policies of the Howard government. But on the matter that the member has raised, it is true: we have decided to increase the number of places available for the contributing parent scheme. We have done that by reducing the number for the non-contributing parent visa scheme, because under our migration program we invite people into the country who are able to come and to pay their way. We maintain a program—

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on a point of order. The question was specifically about the people who do not have to pay $50,000.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order; the member will resume his seat.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was saying, in my answer to the specific question put to me, that we have increased the number of places for the contributing parents scheme, and we have reduced the number of places for the non-contributing scheme.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To zero!

Opposition members interjecting—

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It has not gone to zero, at all, as opposition members who are interjecting know. They know little about these matters. Under our program we ensure that we encourage people to come to Australia the right way, we stop people who are trying to come the wrong way—something the previous government could not do—and we ensure that there is a program that is fair and balanced and continues to build on the success of Australia's immigration program.