Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

SHELDON () (): I had some problems trying to get this through the last Senate two-minute statements, so here we go. There's an old saying that goes: when you're caught with your hand in the cookie jar, deny it's your hand. Senator Henderson has given an award-winning rendition. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that, just weeks before her humiliating backflip on international student caps, she headlined an event for migration agents, including Liberal Party donors, whose business is helping international students extend their stay in Australia. The migration agent hosting the event was the secretary of the Rouse Hill Liberal Party. You couldn't make that up, could you? It doesn't stop there. The shadow immigration minister, Dan Tehan, had a private breakfast with migration agents the day before announcing he would oppose the bill.

The shadow education and immigration ministers have outsourced policy writing to their donors. The Leader of the Opposition is out there dog whistling, saying that international students are the new boat people, but they're fundraising from the visa agents helping international students stay in the country after their study visa has finished.