QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE: TAKE NOTE OF ANSWERS
Senator COLLINS (New South Wales—Deputy Opposition Whip in the Senate) (15:20): There are a few things I've heard today from the government, a few key phrases, about the migration problem. We just heard, 'Give us more control.' That's because Labor has lost control of the borders, and it's taken them four years to work out that they've lost control of the borders.
We heard from Senator Farrell today that there's been a 47 per cent drop in NOM. Imagine how big it was before, if we still have mass migration. Imagine how big it was before, if we had a 47 per cent drop.
They wouldn't give us that number. They gave us the 47 per cent, but they wouldn't give us the number it came down from. What do we hear? 'It's not sustainable.' I've heard that several times this afternoon.
The Labor government is finally admitting that their migration program is not sustainable. So of course they've come out today at the Press Club to say, 'We need more control,' and more control over temporary migration in particular. I'll tell you what that impact is going to have in the regions.
They have not consulted with the farmers, who are already indicating that they have a shortage in their workforce and that the prices of food, fruit and vegetables may go up by Christmas time because they do not have the workforce they need to get that fruit and vegetables to the cities. And here we have the Labor government today saying they're going to cap working holiday-maker visas, which provide a huge part of the numbers we need out in those regions.
But of course classic Labor: never consulting, making the decision first. Then they come out and hear what a stuff-up they've made. There are loopholes in the migration system.
That is absolutely correct. Almost three years ago the government articulated that there is a problem called 'permanent temporariness', where people come in on a temporary visa and cycle around on different visas trying to get permanent residency. In the meantime, we have a housing shortage, and they continue to bring more people in.
We have inflation. We have a trifecta of economic problems here in Australia. And it's taken them four years to work it out.
Well, here we are. I want to move on to the private health insurance pensioner tax. The government are going to axe the additional private health insurance rebate for over-65s.
That's going to be a huge hit on our older Australians. And I want to share something my colleague Phil Thompson, the shadow minister for defence personnel, said today. He realised that with the private health insurance tax that they're putting on older Australians—linked with what they're doing to the veterans at the moment with their allied health cap—they are taxing the people who built this country and the people who defended this country, defended the freedom of this country for us and our families.
What contempt they are showing for the Australian people—what contempt! There is of course the impact, the pressure, that is going to put on our hospitals and our services. The wait lists are only going to get longer.
But of course the Labor government did not ask the Australian people. They make decisions first and work out later that it is a bad idea. Well, we are here to tell them that they got it wrong again.