Farrer by-election a test for One Nation immigration policy

The tight Farrer byelection race will highlight One Nation’s call for negative net migration against Australia’s regional workforce realities. Dr Abul Rizvi reports.

WITH One Nation candidate Farrer by-election, David Farleylooks ahead in the polls 28.7% of votesIn the run-up to the by-election, immigration, as well as water policy, will inevitably be the main focus of debate.

So how will Farley explain One Nation’s immigration policies of negative 100,000 net migration to a huge workforce-strapped electorate?

Farley’s main rival will be an Independent candidate Michelle MilthorpeCurrently voting around 23.3% and voting for former member Susan Ley The fear experienced in the last election. Milthorpe, like Farley, is a moderate who supports an inquiry into water policy. At the last election, he won every stand in the town of Albury (about 30% of the electorate) but did poorly in the outer districts dominated by various agribusinesses.

These will also be regions more likely to support One Nation, although many have aging and declining populations.

The Nationals and Liberals are also expected to nominate candidates with 5.2% and 19% of the vote respectively. The ALP gets 9 percent of the vote but may not be able to nominate a candidate.

Riverina The area, which includes the local government areas of Bland Shire Council, Carrathool Shire Council, Coolamon Shire Council, Cootamundra-Gundagai District Council, Griffith City Council, Hay Shire Council, Junee Shire Council, Leeton Shire Council, Lockhart Shire Council, Murrumbidgee Council, Narrandera Shire Council, Snowy Valleys Council, Temora Shire Council and Wagga Wagga City Council, is covered by the Designated Area Migration Agreement (CHECKERS).

DAMAs are negotiated by regional and remote areas because they feel that their specific labor needs in terms of wages, English language ability or occupations are not adequately met by standard immigration rules. DAMA to OranaThe agreement, which covers the Riverina region, was negotiated in 2019 and has been extended for a further year to 2026.

according to Orana websiteDAMA is designed to provide:

‘…businesses that have a way of addressing current workforce shortages in the region and supporting future workforce planning.’

according to Riverina RDAThe role of the company managing Orana DAMA:

‘…We will consider Riverina businesses for approval under Orana DAMA.’

The key is to ensure these are good-standing Riverina businesses with a real labor shortage that cannot be filled from the region.

DAMA to the Current Rate Covers 129 professions. Not surprisingly, the occupations covered are predominantly in agriculture, health/aged care, manufacturing, teaching, meat processing and construction.

on it websiteMilthorpe says:

A smarter system would create clear and supported pathways for people looking to establish their lives in regional communities, while slowing the concentration of newcomers in metropolitan areas. Immigration should not be a one-dimensional policy designed in Canberra.

Align skilled worker visas with real local demand rather than outdated national lists.

Milthorpe says he opposes a statewide DAMA. This may reflect the NSW Government’s decision to centralize nomination processing across all NSW DAMAs in Sydney.

It is not clear what specific issues Milthorpe has with the privileges in the current Orana DAMA or the professions listed in the DAMA. I suspect the NSW Government may be seeking further territorial concessions, as well as removing Riverina RDA-endorsed nominations from consideration. Regional area visa privileges have been available since 1995.

Millthorpe also says he wants to:

‘Establish Multicultural Centers and create structured welcome programs in key locations such as Griffith and Leeton [and] ‘Take action against unethical labor hire companies that exploit migrant labor and increase control of housing and working conditions.’

Millthorpe wants to:

‘Accelerating employer-sponsored regional visas to meet labor demand; ‘Reduce red tape for businesses that sponsor workers and provide clear, accessible pathways to permanent residence for migrants committed to living and working in regional Australia.’

While more detail would be helpful, it is clear that Millthorpe supports greater immigration into his area.

David Farley’s personal views on immigration to regional Australia are unknown, but he would probably have to support One Nation’s immigration policies. Farley has an agribusiness background and so will understand the challenges the workforce faces farmers face in the electorate, but he may have to keep those views to himself (often a challenge for One Nation candidates).

One Nation’s most recent position on immigration is that net immigration is minus 100,000 per year. Australia has never achieved even close to negative 100,000 net migration per year, not even in the first year of COVID or in the post-pandemic period. Great Depression Has net migration fallen this much?

To achieve net migration of minus 100,000 per year barring a major and ongoing labor market downturn, the One Nation government would need to abolish all skilled visas, including regional visas, as well as the working holiday scheme on which regional Australia relies heavily. The overseas student visa scheme will also need to be abolished, including for Charles Sturt University, which has campuses in the constituency.

It would also have to be eliminated. Pacific Australia Worker Mobility visa Alongside this situation that farmers in the constituency rely on, there is also the mass deportation of many undocumented immigrants working on farms in the constituency.

But this is the arithmetic reality that David Farley must support. Farley may focus his criticism on Milthorpe’s proposal to establish more multicultural centers among voters, in the hope that area businesses and farmers will not realize the impact of One Nation policies on their businesses and farms.

That would be his best hope when debating Milthorpe on immigration policy.

Doctor Abul Rizvi He is an independent Australian columnist and a former Deputy Secretary of the Immigration Service. You can follow Abul on Twitter @RizviAbul or Bluesky @abulrizvi.bsky.social.

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