“We have a once-in-a-generation chance to reform our immigration system and get this right,” O’Neil said.
O’Neil said the review,which does not yet have terms of reference but is slated to finish in February ahead of next year’s budget,will help give the immigration system the “love and care” it needs.
“I am going to appoint three eminent Australians who will review our migration system and tell us what the immigration system of our future should look like and how we can rebuild the system to get it working in Australia’s national interest.”
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On Friday,Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the Labor government’s increase in the permanent migrant intake was “too little,too late” and suggested the number needed to be higher.
“We do need an increase in the migration numbers,but we’ll see what the government actually delivers because this can be many,many months,if not a couple of years in the pipeline,” he said last week.
But on Monday,O’Neil said Dutton needed to explain the reasoning behind his call for a higher permanent migration intake.