One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has called for Australia to restrict migration from countries subject to the federal government’s highest-level “do not travel” warnings, arguing that serious security threats identified overseas should also be considered when deciding who is allowed to migrate to Australia.
Hanson’s proposal would focus on countries or regions where Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade warnings are linked to risks including terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict, violent crime, civil unrest, state repression or the collapse of government authority.
Australia’s Smartraveller service currently advises Australians not to travel to a range of destinations including Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Haiti, Russia, Lebanon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among others. The reasons vary between countries and can include war, terrorism, detention risks and severe instability.
Hanson argues there is an inconsistency in warning Australians that particular countries are too dangerous to visit while continuing normal migration from the same places.
She said security conditions considered serious enough to trigger DFAT’s highest travel warning should not be ignored during migration assessments. The One Nation leader has linked the proposal to broader concerns about terrorism and people associated with overseas extremist organisations.
The proposal forms part of One Nation’s increasingly hard-line immigration platform. Hanson has also advocated reducing Australia’s permanent migration program to around 130,000 places a year, saying lower migration would ease pressure on housing and infrastructure.
The latest proposal comes as migration remains a major federal political issue. Both the government and opposition are under pressure to explain how immigration levels should be balanced against housing supply, skills shortages and demands on public services.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected approaches that he said could divide multicultural communities, while defending his government’s efforts to bring migration levels down.
Speaking in Canberra on August 14, Albanese said the government had reduced migration from its peak while avoiding policies that vilified migrants. He said his government supported multiculturalism and would seek to maintain community harmony while continuing reforms to the migration system.
Astronomy
The government has argued that immigration policy must also account for Australia’s labour needs, with industries relying heavily on skilled migrants. Business groups have warned that overly aggressive reductions could worsen shortages in sectors that already struggle to recruit enough workers.
Hanson’s proposal is therefore likely to intensify the broader political argument over national security, immigration levels and multiculturalism, particularly as One Nation seeks to turn its growing electoral support into greater influence over federal policy.
Source: Australian Financial Review, with government and other public sources used for verification.
