Pauline Hanson Does Not Care About Business Impact of Immigration Cuts

Federal Government

Thursday, 6 August 2026, 1:31 pm

Thursday, 6 August 2026, 2:23 pm

Pauline Hanson says she does not care if businesses are hurt by cutting skilled migration.

In short:

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says she does not care if businesses are affected by cuts to skilled migration.

She made these comments while Labor was dealing with the fallout of a leaked plan to cut access to skilled and family visas.

What's next?

Senator Hanson said One Nation's plan to cap migration at 130,000 only applies to permanent migration, not net overseas migration.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says she does not care if cuts to skilled migration hurt Australian businesses.

She made these comments while Labor was dealing with the fallout of a leaked plan to change immigration.

In a speech that was later cancelled, Immigration Minister Tony Burke planned to stop partners and children of Australian citizens from applying for family visas in Australia and to limit working holiday visas.

One Nation has announced its candidates for the upper house in Victoria, led by army veteran Warren Pickering.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce said this plan would stop skilled migrants from coming to Australia and hurt the economy.

One Nation has a plan to cut immigration to 130,000 places, deport 75,000 visa overstayers, and refuse migrants from countries known to support extremist ideologies.

Senator Hanson told News24 she did not care what effect big immigration cuts would have on businesses.

I don't care what people think, she said.

Whether it hurts their businesses or universities because they won't have as many foreign students, I don't care.

My concern is for Australians who can't afford a home or a decent standard of living.

In the same interview, Senator Hanson said she wanted to change the skilled migration list to prioritize doctors, nurses, engineers, and others who would benefit the country.

Senator Hanson told News24 she did not care about the impact on businesses.

Hanson confirms the cut would only apply to permanent migration

One Nation's policy is to cut migration to 130,000 per year, but it was unclear if this number would apply to net overseas migration or permanent migration.

Net overseas migration is the increase in Australia's population from people arriving minus people leaving, while permanent migration is the number of people granted permanent visas.

One Nation has criticized the government for not reducing net overseas migration, which is largely due to international students, working holiday-makers, and other temporary visa holders.

On Thursday, Senator Hanson confirmed the 130,000 cap only applies to permanent migration.

One Nation questions whether man-made climate change is real, wants to limit access to abortion care, and plans to pay the HECS debts of doctors working in regional areas.

That will be permanent migration into the country. We'd still allow backpackers, workers, and tourists, who will be here for a short time.

The government's 2026-27 permanent migration intake is 185,000 places.

She also indicated the 130,000 cap might be temporary, saying it would give Australia a break.

I'm not saying 130,000 permanently, let's review it every year, she said.

One Nation also wants to introduce an eight-year waiting period for citizenship and welfare and refuse entry to migrants from countries known to support extremist ideologies.

Although One Nation has not specified which countries this relates to, except for Gaza, Senator Hanson said earlier this year she did not believe there were any good Muslims.

These comments were rejected by politicians across the spectrum and labeled as divisive and un-Australian.

Police determined the comments did not reach the threshold to be pursued as a crime under hate speech laws.

A day after the interview, Senator Hanson issued a partial apology, saying she did believe there were some good Muslims.

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