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Bloomberg
PM Scott Morrison’s government pledged to freeze Australia’s refugee intake for the next three years as it thrust immigration to the heart of its campaign for re-election.
The number of asylum-seeker visas granted each year will be kept at 18,750 for the next term of government if the Liberal-National coalition retains office on May 18, Minister for Cities Alan Tudge said. He told Sky News the announcement was part of the government’s overall plan of capping migration to ease congestion in the nation’s biggest cities.
Morrison’s center-right government is trailing the main Labor opposition in opinion polls ahead of next month’s ballot and putting immigration policy back in the headlines is an attempt to remind voters of its success in managing border security.
The left-leaning Labor party, which has pledged to boost the annual humanitarian intake to 32,000, is vulnerable on the issue after previous administrations failed to stem the flow of refugees brought to Australia by boat illegally.