Prime minister intervenes to guarantee refugee intake will not be cut

The Albanese government's plan to slash more than 6,000 places from its annual refugee intake have sparked anger and confusion within Labor, and prompted accusations it would amount to an "extraordinary betrayal" of the party's rank and file members.

A spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has confirmed Labor plans to reduce the humanitarian intake next financial year by a third, from 20,000 to 13,750, as reported in the Australian Financial Review (AFR).

Mr Burke's office said Labor's decision to lift the intake in 2023 was always temporary and was only funded for four years.

But four Labor MPs, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have disputed this characterisation, telling the ABC they believed the higher intake was "enduring" and "not time-limited".

The proposed change has not been canvassed in any caucus forums, according to another MP, who said they expected the existing refugee intake to be maintained in line with Labor's National Platform when the funding comes up for renewal next year.

Last month at the ALP National Conference there was unanimous agreement on a resolution committing Labor to maintaining the intake at 20,000 per year "in the short-term" while continuing "to aspire to achieving" 27,000 places.

The issue has been described as "sacred" to party members, who have reluctantly accepted hardline border protection policies in exchange for the promise of Labor lifting Australia's refugee intake.

Speaking at the Daily Telegraph's Bush Summit in Dubbo today, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suggested the government was still finalising its policy.

"Don't believe everything you read in the Fin," Mr Albanese said, referring to the AFR report.

When asked if Labor's crackdown on migration was in response to a populist push from parties such as One Nation, Mr Albanese said the government was responding "to the national need".

"There is a current spike in the support for One Nation, quite clearly," he said.

"But we’ve responded [to the migration issue] — we started lowering the numbers well before that occurred."

Australia has historically resettled a baseline of 13,750 refugees each year.

In 2022, the Morrison government temporarily boosted the intake to 17,875, for Afghan nationals, before then-immigration minister Andrew Giles announced a further increase to 20,000 per year in 2023.

At the time Mr Albanese said "the government will be tough on borders without being weak on humanity".

"When the Albanese government increased the refugee and humanitarian program to 20,000 places in 2023, there was no hint that this was a short-term increase," Refugee Council of Australia chief executive Paul Power said.

"If the cut goes ahead, the Albanese government would be implementing the policy Peter Dutton took to the 2025 election, turning its back on a commitment that has been Labor policy for 14 years."

Asylum Seeker Resource Centre deputy chief executive Jana Favero said it was an "extraordinary betrayal" of Labor members who secured a commitment to maintaining Australia's refugee intake at its current level a month ago.

"I'm sure Labor MPs and members will be asking how a decision made openly and democratically at their own National Conference can be discarded so quickly by Anthony Albanese and Tony Burke," she said.

"This shows that they are panicking and it shows that One Nation is leading their migration policy."

Lifting Australia's refugee intake has been embedded in the Labor party's platform for a decade.

The promise to resettle more refugees was critical in convincing Labor's left faction to endorse a number of hardline border protection policies, including boat turn-backs, at the 2015 ALP National Conference.

While a reduction in the refugee intake is not being considered as part of the government's looming migration overhaul, Labor is under pressure to reduce overseas arrivals and achieve its target of cutting net overseas migration (NOM) from the current 300,000 to 225,000 by 2028.

Mr Burke has already paused or slowed down the processing of Working Holiday Maker visas and bumped workers applying for skilled visas from overseas to the back of the queue.

As revealed by the ABC, the minister was also considering removing the favourable treatment of British backpackers, which would be in breach of the UK free trade agreement, before the prime minister intervened.

Mr Power said cutting 6,250 refugee places would have little impact on migration numbers, noting that the program overhaul has has contributed just 6.6 per cent to NOM over the past decade.