One Nation’s drastic plan to slash migration by 750,000 slammed by farmers

One Nation’s newly announced plan to cut migrant numbers by 750,000 people over three years has been widely criticised, with farmers warning it will cause worker shortages and push up prices for everyday Australians.

In a statement on Monday, Pauline Hanson announced she would make the cuts from temporary visa holders and non-citizens overstaying their visas.

It comes as the number of temporary visa holders rose from 1.6 million in 2021 to 2.9 million in 2026.

“One Nation’s plan will return the temporary migrant population to around 2017 levels and the international student population to 2015 levels,” Hanson said.

“Over the three years net overseas migration will be net-negative.

“Following this, One Nation’s net overseas migration ceiling of 130,000 per year would remain in place.”

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Hanson would give visa overstayers three months to leave the country or face a lifetime ban and pause migration from countries that have travel warnings for terrorism or other extreme security risks.

She would also cut tax-funded legal aid for visa appeals.

Under the policy, universities would still be allowed to enrol more than 100,000 international students a year, with priority given to those that provide accommodation, and existing seasonal worker programs like PALM would be maintained.

“Tinkering around the edges will not fix the damage,” Hanson said.

“This is about giving Australians breathing space by drastically cutting the stock of temporary migrants, restoring control and making sure migration serves Australia.”

National Farmers Federation president Hamish McIntyre said One Nation’s plan would have a massive impact on farmers and would drive up costs and affect operations, eventually impacting their ability to put food on the table for Australians.

“We need a couple of hundred thousand a year working holiday makers,” he told Today.

“We don’t want to get involved in the politics. We just need people in regional Australia to do these jobs for us.

“There’s just not enough out here in regional Australia, local Australians, to do it any more.”

One Nation’s immigration stance has dominated the political debate about the net overseas migration figure, which was 301,000 people last year.

Its latest policy announcement has ruffled feathers in Canberra, with opposing politicians warning her plan would result in dire consequences for regional areas, industry and the greater economy.

Environment Minister Murray Watt warned it is a “recipe to destroy the Australian economy and drive the Australian economy into recession”.

“I don’t know when Pauline Hanson or Barnaby Joyce last stepped into an abattoir, onto a farm, into a hospital, into an aged care facility,” he told reporters in Canberra.

“Every single one of those enterprises relies on a degree of migrant labour.”

Health Minister Mark Butler said it is easy for One Nation to get a “tabloid headline” but it takes more work to get a “careful balancing act”.

“Pauline Hanson said a few weeks ago she didn’t care what the impact on business would be of her migration policies. But this frankly is another level,” he told Today.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor called for One Nation to explain the detail of their policy.

“A few days ago, their immigration numbers were 130,000. Now it’s something different,” he told reporters.

“Well, what is it each year over the next three or four years. What are those numbers? They’re not in their releases. They need to explain it.”

Labor is set to announce its own highly anticipated migration policy, with speculation rising that it will be released sometime this week.

Home Affairs and Immigration Minister Tony Burke is yet to reschedule his National Press Club address to announce changes to the migration settings following his abrupt cancellation in August due to a heated cabinet debate.

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Meanwhile, the Coalition had its own confusion over its migration policy.

It has vowed to tie net overseas migration figures to housing supply but has yet to announce a figure.

Shadow housing minister Andrew Bragg in August mused that it would be a reduction of 180,000 people a year, which Taylor later had to walk back.