‘Piecemeal’ Solution: Coalition Opposes International Student Caps

Dan Tehan highlighted the bill’s neglect of secondary visas, including 120,000 partners of students, 86 percent of whom seek to remain in Australia.

A university graduate is seen outside Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Oct. 1, 2015. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

The federal opposition has strongly opposed the government’s plans to cap international students at 270,000, dismissing it as a “piecemeal” solution to broader immigration concerns.

With just weeks before the laws were set to take effect, the Coalition vowed to vote against the policy, arguing it failed to address the underlying issues.