Andrew Giles preparing bait and switch on immigration cuts by normalising higher average annual numbers

As predicted by the commentariat here, fag Andrew Giles is preparing the public for some fake immigration cuts:

“He also laid blame at the feet of local governments for being unwilling to build as councils rejected building proposals but eventually said that the nation had to look at capping the influx of people moving here.

“I would love not to touch migration,” Mr Richardson said.

“But we have screwed this up so massively as a nation that we temporarily need to look at migration as part of this equation.”

The main group? University students.

“We have now 725,000 students from the rest of the world studying in Australia, a year ago that was 555,000.

“We sell education to the world and a lot of that we do well and some of it, we don’t do as well, but it is a big part of the increase in the pressure at the moment and it is a relatively concentrated bit where we can make a change.”

He then called on the government to fund universities so they would not be so reliant on foreign students before adding that once again local councils also needed to look at planning.

“The bigger lever is to insist local councils say yes to more [building] and the government is gently starting that process …  until we do that, we need, I would say, students as the lever and pull back for a while.”

Keeping the whole debate in the supply side frame too.

So in essence, they’re going to cut some student visas slightly, claim they’re listening, while the overall annual rate remains higher and normalising another increase in annual immigration numbers.

Nothing about protection visa rorting, fake partner visas, working uber driver visas or 85 year old Indian grandmothers in aged care by the Air India load.

But hey, if you’re a child predator or murderer come on down and get your first mortgage.

Bear in mind they already did this same stunt with student visas and work rights. Prior to COVID, students were ónly allowed to work 40 hours a fortnight, a rort in itself. During COVID that was suspended and they were allowed to essentially work without limitation. They then claimed they had reduced the hours worked after COVID by increasing that to 48 hours per fortnight – an overall gain of 48 hours per week (but it’s not enforced really).

That’s how the game works.

We’ll be at a million per year by the end of the decade at this trajectory.

$20 median million house prices in Sydney by 2025.