Queensland Premier Sides With Federal Opposition on Migration Cut

Queensland Premier Steven Miles has urged the government to curb the influx of overseas migration as the state struggles to cope with a sharp rise in population. In a surprise move that deviated from the party line, the Labor premier supported Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s recent proposal to cut migration intake. During his budget reply in mid-May, Mr. Dutton shared his party’s plan to cut permanent immigration by 25 percent from the current level of 185,000 to 140,000 in the next two years if the Coalition was elected in the upcoming federal election. The opposition leader said the plan was a “rebalancing” of the migration program to alleviate the pressure on the housing system by freeing up 100,000 homes in five years....