Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. I refer to the government's increase to the Migration Program to 1.8 million people over five years. Will the Treasurer guarantee it will not go higher than 1.8 million?

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Moreton is warned.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's so good to get a question from them on net overseas migration because, if there is ever a gap between their rhetoric and what they have done, it's on this issue. The latest figures that came out only last week showed a 31 per cent fall in net overseas migration year on year. A particularly fast-growing area of net overseas migration had been student visas. The government's action on student visas also showed a 31 per cent fall. But, when we put that measure to the parliament, which way did they vote on student visas? They voted for student visas to be unlimited. While this government has taken action, you don't like it, do you? It's terribly sad. But it's the record you're responsible for, and there's a lot more to come. There's plenty more to come.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! We're going to do this in an orderly fashion. We're going to hear from the manager, who is entitled to raise a point of order. We'll deal with his point of order, and then we will rule on that and work through back to the minister. Okay?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let the peacock parade continue.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leader of the Opposition—

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sorry, Mr Speaker.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Fair go. We don't need anything ever like that said.

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The point of order is on relevance. In an environment of record-high migration, it's fair that we ask a very tight question about the government policy. We've seen in successive budgets the budgeted amount of migration and the actual amount vary quite significantly with much higher migration in reality than what is budgeted. The question is therefore very tight about whether the government guarantees that the 1.8 million migrants that they budgeted for won't be exceeded.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The manager was given a bit of licence there. He knows that's not the normal approach, but he is entitled to have his say. I was listening carefully because it was a tight question, but the minister was giving facts and figures around net migration.

An honourable member interjecting—

Well, he was giving information about net migration. If he strays off into alternative approaches or policy, which he wasn't asked about, we'll deal with that, but, while he's giving facts and figures, I don't know what he's going to say in terms of net migration, but he is talking about that and being directly relevant. I know you wanted an answer about a guarantee. I can't get him to do that. But, while he's giving numbers and facts and figures to the parliament, he is being directly relevant.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Of course, with net migration, the key driver that any government has over it is how many visas you issue. There are some visas where we've taken action, like we have with respect to student visas—action which they voted to make unlimited. There are other actions we've taken—for example, we got rid of the 'golden ticket' visa, one of the things that would feed into net migration figures. The 'golden ticket' visa, the one that we've previously described as 'cash for visas', is something that the Leader of the Opposition wants to bring back.

But the overriding control you have in immigration is how many visas you issue. Now, in terms of the concept of record highs on that input, it has only happened twice in Australian history that a minister for home affairs or immigration has issued more than nine million visas. It has only happened twice. It wasn't me as minister. It wasn't my predecessors. Who possibly would've issued more than nine million visas for two consecutive years? No-one else has caught up with this record.

Honourable members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Members on my right. The Manager of Opposition Business on a further point of order.

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The point of order is 91(c). You were very clear in your direction to the minister. He's now wilfully ignoring your, I think, quite direct suggestion, Mr Speaker, and he should come back to the question. It was very tight; it was about the 1.8 million migrants in the budget.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, and the minister is talking about that. I can guess where he's going to go with this. I'll just ask the minister one more time to make sure he's being directly relevant in terms of the figures that he's referring to. He'll need to make it relevant to the question he was asked about the 1.8 million figure in this budget.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The biggest driver for any minister of net overseas migration is the number of visas they issue. No-one has ever issued more visas in Australian history than the Leader of the Opposition when he held this portfolio.