How Labor plans to cut migration + The far-right win Australia can't ignore

Chris Spyrou (0:07)

Hey, Chris Spyrou with you, welcome to The Briefing. A far-right party last week surged to the front of a German state election, and it's the closest any has come to running a state in the country since the Nazi era.

So why on a continent used to far-right swings is this one rattling so many?

Kaz Ross (0:24)

The party incorporates neo-Nazi and extremist elements as well. And of course, given Germany's history, this is quite shocking to people that actual open neo-Nazis could have an influence over a major political party.

Chris Spyrou (0:39)

That deep dive into the AFD, what it means for the growing far-right movement. And for us here in Australia is coming up in the second half of this episode. First, let's get into the headlines with Sacha Barbour Gatt on Thursday, the 17th of September.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (0:54)

Hey, Chris, we're starting today with politics. And after a six-week delay, Labor will unveil its long-awaited migration plan today. Immigration Minister Tony Burke will front the National Press Club to outline the policy, which is looking to reduce Australia's intake by an additional 80,000 people to a target of 225,000 by 2028

The government's plan will try to achieve this by cutting the number of temporary visas, which is up to 3 million right now, enforce more deportations for overstayers, and crack down on onshore asylum claims.

Chris Spyrou (1:27)

When it comes to international students, Labor will keep those intake numbers the same, but will effectively ban them from bringing family. Last year saw over 45,000 dependents and family members of overseas students granted visas. Migration is a major issue facing the country's politicians right now as the country struggles with limited housing supply and increasing strain on infrastructure, health and education.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (1:50)

Now, One Nation has already announced a plan to cut 750,000 temporary migrants over three years. But the Coalition is reportedly struggling to come to a consensus on the issue, with the nationals and liberal leaders at loggerheads over what direction to take. Matt Canavan reportedly backing a policy similar to One Nation's, while Angus Taylor is preparing to announce a target of less than 170,000 migrants by 2028, and that's compared to Labor's proposed 225,000. Interestingly today, Chris, as well, the ABS, the Bureau of Statistics, is releasing its migration data today, which will tell us how many people arrived and left and give us that net overseas migration number. So that will be interesting to see whether, because Labor has actually been slowly, because we saw these numbers peak post COVID, and Labor, since being in power, has slowly managed to bring the number lower. It's still too high for what they want it to be.

So yeah, it'll be interesting to see where that number is today.

Chris Spyrou (2:51)

A warning, this next story is distressing. It's been revealed the mother of two children killed by their Perth father inside a Bali home watched the horror unfold by a home security camera footage streamed live to her phone. On Sunday morning, the woman was on the phone with her husband, 56 year old Damien John Shaw, when she heard one of the children crying in the background before the line went dead.

At the time, the woman was visiting her family in Jakarta.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (3:15)

Bali police say the woman tried to call back, but Shaw wouldn't answer, so she checked security camera footage inside the home on her phone. And she watched as he chased their four year old daughter, Laura, while she said, I love you daddy in English, before he took her into a bedroom. Police say their six year old son Archie had already been killed.

Chris Spyrou (3:36)

It's understood the mother frantically tried to get neighbours to access the home, but by the time they entered, the children had already been killed and Shaw had taken his own life. At that point, it was around two hours after the initial call between the woman and her husband.

Sacha Barbour Gatt (3:49)

Now authorities have described these cases unprecedented, saying local police have never had an incident of this nature captured on home security footage or a case of double murder suicide involving a foreign father. The couple had lived in the home since 2022 in the popular tourist and expat area of Legian, which is just north of Kouda. Their lease was signed up until 2029 And if this story has brought up any issues for you or someone you know needs support, you can call 1-800-RESPECT.

Chris Spyrou (4:19)

Staying overseas where a new front in the Middle East conflict continues to grow between Saudi Arabia and Iran backed fighters, the Houthis. Saudi warplanes have pounded Houthi targets in Yemen overnight after the rebel group fired on Saudi cities and seized a key shipping lane in the Red Sea, one of two routes the kingdom had been using to get its oil out while the Strait of Hormuz is blocked. The other, an overland pipeline that carries up to 5% of global supply was knocked out last week by a drone strike Saudi Arabia has blamed on Iran backed fighters in Iraq.