2026-11-13
Labor’s backflip on its planned crackdown on backpackers shows that policy based on chasing One Nation to the right on immigration doesn’t work.
The plan is reportedly set to be reviewed following two months of heated criticism from tourism, rural and small business groups that will face staff shortages if working holiday visa numbers are reduced.
The Greens say that while the partial backflip is good news, Labor’s policy of cutting immigration is still based on cruelty and this race to the bottom with One Nation.
The impact of this reversal is likely to be even tougher limits on other essential visa classes like family reunion and partner visas that have already seen processing times blow out by years under Labor.
Greens Leader Senator David Shoebridge said:
“This backflip on backpackers shows that this approach to immigration policy from One Nation and Labor, of just picking a number out of the sky, doesn’t work.
“Labor, One Nation and the Coalition have all tried this, picking an arbitrary number and then watching it get picked apart by reality. This is why immigration policy needs to be set by core principles, not by media sounds grabs.
“All across the country, communities, businesses and lives are improved by the many contributions of migrants, and this is why these anti-immigration policies simply don’t stand up to scrutiny.
“Even with this backflip, Labor still intends to block families from reuniting with loved ones, build new immigration detention centres and send hundreds of uniformed Border Force officers into communities.
“Labor and One Nation blame migrants for the housing crisis, stagnating wages, underfunded healthcare and education, and together they are undermining support for this essential pillar of modern Australia.
We are now watching their rhetoric face reality when it comes to backpackers and it turns out a twenty-year-old on a gap year is not responsible for decades of ignoring public housing, or refusing to put in a rent cap.
“Maybe they should take the hint and stop chasing One Nation down the far-right rabbit hole.”
Greens Agricultural spokesperson Senator Vanessa Bleyer said:
“This backflip on backpackers by the Labor government just goes to show how half-baked their immigration plans are.
“Backpackers are not migrants. They are tourists. They work their way around Australia filling regional jobs during the peak season and - crucially - put the money they earn back into our regional communities.
“Since announcing these cuts Labor has been tinkering at the edges to try and make the backpacker cuts more palatable, but no amount of tweaking changes the fact that they missed the mark.
“Any cut to the number of working holiday makers will jeopardise food production and food security across Australia.
“These cuts are based on vibes, and a result of Labor joining the Liberals and One Nation in a race to the bottom on migration, not sound policy.”