The Coalition has withdrawn its support on international student caps, a surprise move which has left Labor fumbling.
The last-minute decision sees the Coalition siding with Greens and Independents and the Albanese government now standing alone on the issue.
In response, Education minister, Jason Clare, accused Peter Dutton of being a “fraud”, as he previously pushed strong stances on immigration, but now will not back the cap.
The controversial plan from the Albanese government would see temporary migration numbers brought back to pre-pandemic levels by limiting the number of international students able to begin studying to 270,000 in 2025.
Under the proposed changes, each higher education provider will be given a limit on the number of international students they can enrol.
This will be based on a formula that takes into account previous levels of international student commencements and the overall student body.
The proposal has been received poorly by both the Greens and the tertiary education sector as a whole.
The Greens education spokesperson, Mehreen Faruqi, has previously hit back at the proposal, saying that Labor was in a “race to the bottom with the Coalition on migration”.
Chief executive of Universities Australia, Luke Sheehy, also condemned the plan, saying universities were being used as a “political football” in the debate on migration in the lead up to the next federal election.
He has also warned that up to 14,000 university jobs could be at risk if the plan is put into action.