Anger and confusion over Labor's planned refugee cuts

The Albanese government's proposal to significantly reduce Australia's annual refugee intake has ignited internal dissent and accusations of betrayal within the Labor party. The plan, which would slash over 6,000 places from the current 20,000 annual humanitarian intake, has left many party members confused and angered, particularly given a recent unanimous resolution at the ALP National Conference to maintain the intake at 20,000.

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Don't believe everything you read in the Fin

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke's office confirmed the reduction to 13,750 places for the next financial year, stating the previous increase was temporary and only funded for four years. However, four Labor MPs, speaking anonymously, contested this, asserting they believed the higher intake was intended to be permanent. Another MP noted the proposal had not been discussed in caucus, expecting the intake to remain at 20,000 in line with Labor's National Platform when funding renewal arises next year.

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to the national need

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offered a contradictory stance, suggesting the government was still finalizing policy and urging people not to believe all reports. He also linked the migration policy to responding to "national need" rather than a populist push from parties like One Nation, despite acknowledging a current spike in support for the latter. This statement came despite confirmation of the cuts from Burke's office.

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There is a current spike in the support for One Nation, quite clearly

Refugee advocacy groups have strongly condemned the potential cuts. Paul Power, chief executive of the Refugee Council of Australia, stated there was no indication the 20,000-place intake was short-term and warned that implementing such a cut would align with policies previously advocated by opposition figure Peter Dutton. Jana Favero of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre called it an "extraordinary betrayal," questioning how a decision made democratically at the party's national conference could be so quickly discarded. She suggested the move indicated government panic and that One Nation was influencing their migration policy.

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But we've responded [to the migration issue], we started lowering the numbers well before that occurred.