Insights from a Former Howard-Era Immigration Minister for Sussan Ley

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A former conservative frontbencher says the Coalition should be less focused on migration figures, which “may go up” and “may come down”, urging it to consider who enters Australia instead.

Liberal leader Sussan Ley was forced to put her migration policy release on hold in December amid concerns of fraying social cohesion in the wake of the Bondi Beach mass shooting.

Ley has repeatedly said that migration numbers are too high, and her predecessor, Peter Dutton, pledged to cut migration numbers by 100,000 people each year ahead of the election, but the Coalition has not committed to a figure since Ley became leader.

As Ley considers the Coalition’s strategy in the new year, Philip Ruddock — who held the immigration portfolio for seven years under former prime minister John Howard — advised against being fixated on program numbers.

In the aftermath of the Coalition’s 1996 electoral victory, Ruddock was named the minister for immigration, a role he maintained until 2003, becoming the Howard government’s longest-serving minister.

“The focus should be on close family reunion,” Ruddock told SBS News in early December.

“On bringing people with the skills that we need that are going to help create growth in our economy, and you need to do so in a totally non-discriminatory way.”

This includes race, culture and religion, he said, with Australia demonstrating that “you can bring people together of a great variety of differences, and still be one”.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data released in December showed net overseas migration was 306,000 in 2024-25, down from 429,000 a year earlier.

Migration arrivals also decreased by 14 per cent to 568,000, and international students constituted the largest component, with 157,000 people.

According to the newly released 2005 cabinet papers, the 2003-2004 non-humanitarian migration program was delivered at around 114,360 places.

Ruddock’s career in parliament spanned an impressive 43 years until his retirement in 2016, during which he became well-known for his stringent policies on asylum seekers.

Ruddock was instrumental in implementing the ‘Pacific Solution’, under which hundreds of asylum seekers who arrived by boat were turned back and sent for detention and offshore processing in Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

His choice of words, labeling asylum seekers arriving by boat as “illegals” and “queue-jumpers,” played a significant role in shaping the debate with a negative connotation.

“We boast the largest immigration program in the world relative to population size, which has substantially fueled our economic growth,” he stated.

Ruddock recalled the difference in debate around migration two decades earlier, ahead of the release of the 2005 cabinet papers, which shed light on government decisions at the time.

He said current issues frequently raised in debates about migration, such as housing, were not as prominent in the mid-2000s.

“There was never a debate about housing in terms of the number of people that we were accommodating. I think we were able to meet the needs,” Ruddock said.

“We have a larger immigration program per population than any other country in the world, and it’s delivered a significant part of our economic growth.”

The Howard government was largely focused on asylum seekers and turning back boats.

Amanda Vanstone, who succeeded Ruddock as immigration minister, urged cabinet in 2005 to consider a 20,000-person increase in the migration program, according to the newly declassified documents.

It aimed to set the program at 115,000 to 125,000 places, accommodating a contingency reserve of 15,000 for additional skilled migrants.

Vandstone argued the increase would “enable overseas students to undertake apprenticeships on a full fee-paying basis in regional Australia” and address a key area of skills shortage, traditional trades.

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet questioned how this increase would address labour and skills shortages, requesting further detailed analysis.

Howard, who backed Vandstone, said “we have an economic need at the moment for more skilled people”, before announcing the increase to overall intake in April of that year.