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Federal employment minister Amanda Rishworth has said she “[doesn’t] accept the premise” of the argument that Labor’s proposed cuts to migration would threaten food security and affect the cost of living.
She told ABC News this morning that “there will still be access to backpackers”, saying that under the proposed scheme they would be required in their second and third year to work in regional areas, and that the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) would still be running.
I’d encourage farmers to have a look at that [PALM] scheme, because there is opportunity. But more broadly, when it comes to migration, it is about taking a response that ensures that we have integrity in the system, that we have compliance in the system.
I believe that this enduring quality of American diplomacy will see a brighter day again.
I would simply say that the idea that we will enhance our security by withdrawing from allies and partners is deeply, profoundly misguided. And we have many historical examples of moments of American retrenchment. In almost every case that has led to degrees of global calamity. And so I’m all for opportunities to work constructively with allies and partners.
On the part of the United States, we’ve got to clear out some of those hurdles that make cooperation with the United States that much more difficult. And it means approaching some of these partnerships with a much higher degree of humility.
