Australia in no rush to reduce migrant intake
Updated
The Australian Government says it won't be rushing to cut Australia's migration intake, despite predictions that unemployment will rise faster than expected.
Our reporter Naomi Woodley says Federal Opposition says turmoil in the global economy means Australia's unemployment rate will rise above the budget predictions.
The Immigration spokeswoman Sharman Stone says the government should immediately abandon this year's plans to increase skilled migration.
"Let's knock off that 20 percent increase, let's really, very carefully look at the long-term."
But the immigration minister Chris Evans says skilled migrants bring a lot of economic benefits.
"And a lot of the skills that are coming in at the moment are in the mining sector, which has allowed us to increase our exports."
He says the government will wait for next months mid-year financial data before deciding whether to adjust the intake.
