2026-09-17
Responding to reporting that Labor is about to announce restrictions on visas for the families of international students, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Greens and spokesperson for higher education, said:
“As a migrant myself, I say to international students and migrant communities in Australia that the Greens have your back.
“I remember landing in Australia with my husband and one year old in 1992. We had nothing but our two suitcases. We got through those first hard years because we were together. There’s no reason to force newcomers to struggle alone far away from loved ones.
“Labor’s move to force people to choose between their family and a chance to study in Australia is soulless mimicry of One Nation tactics. Pauline Hanson and her billionaire backers might as well be ghost writing Labor’s immigration policy.
“International students need humanity and certainty. The higher education sector needs a funding boost. Prime Minister Albanese needs a reality check.
“International students have long been used as cash cows to prop up our universities, and now they are once again being used as scapegoats for this government’s own policy failures.
“International students and their families are not political footballs to be tossed around at the whim of political parties. They are people who come here to study and contribute so much to our campuses and our communities. They deserve respect and support, not contempt and disregard.”