The Australian government has announced plans to cap the number of international students allowed to study in Australia next year in a bid to reduce immigration, ease domestic housing pressures and the rising cost of living. This "unprecedented" restrictive bill has entered the consultation process and has been angrily blasted by the Australian education industry. The Albanese government has been accused of making the country's education sector a "scapegoat" in order to gain a head start on immigration reform in hopes of winning next year's federal parliamentary elections.

Comprehensive Australian news website (news.com.au), the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported on the 11th that on Wednesday local time, the president of the Australian Universities Australia (Universities Australia) David Lloyd spoke at an event, Accusing the government of reducing university income, the move would deal a heavy blow to the country's economy, which relies on the study-abroad industry.

He also said using universities as "political pawns" would cause Australia to lose out in the global competition for talent and undermine the contribution of higher education to national development priorities.

Reported that the Victorian Labor government despite the pending new rules, is still trying to win students from China to study in the state's universities. Deputy Premier and education minister Ben Carroll said on Tuesday that "due to cuts to the university sector, revenue from international students represents a significant portion of higher education funding." Our universities depend on foreign students."

According to the AFR, Chinese students will be most affected if the new study abroad quota is implemented from January 1 next year. This is because they are the international students most likely to study at Australia's "Go8" universities, which have suffered the biggest cuts in enrolment. The group of Eight is made up of eight of Australia's leading research universities with an international reputation.

On January 10, local time, Melbourne, Australia, Victoria Deputy Governor Ben Carroll (right) and Australian Prime Minister Albanese talk. Visual China

More than 56,000 Chinese students were studying at universities in Victoria last year, and about 430,000 ethnic Chinese live in the state.

On the 9th, local time, Carol just concluded a week-long trip to China and Singapore. He met with China's Vice Minister of Education Wang Jiayi and leaders of top universities in Beijing and Shanghai to discuss ways to deepen cooperation between the two universities and expand the number of students studying abroad in both directions.

Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan has also strongly condemned the cap on international student places and said she would visit India next week to further promote the opening up of Australia's education system.

"I want to make it very clear that Victoria will always be a welcoming place for international students," Allen stressed.

According to Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas (Tim Pallas), the federal government's new rules, if implemented, could cost Australia nearly 5 billion Australian dollars (about 23.769 billion yuan) in revenue and the loss of 12,000 jobs.

In fact, since the end of 2023, the Australian government has promulgated a series of entry restriction policies, most of which directly affect the vital interests of international students. Universities Australia estimates that since December, the controls on overseas student numbers have cost the economy A $4.3 billion ($20.44 billion) and put 14,000 jobs at risk.

The Australian Universities Alliance represents 39 member universities. Speaking at the National Press Club of Australia on Wednesday, the group's president, David Lloyd, said the cap on international student numbers was the latest intervention by the federal government to treat universities as "political playthings" and international students as "scapegoats for the housing crisis", which was "deliberately weakening our economy".

He cited Canada's new restrictions on foreign students this year as a cautionary example of universities focused on saving money and faculty facing job losses, saying similar measures in Australia "would not do any good."

Lloyd pointed out that international education is Australia's "second largest export industry" after mining, providing an economic contribution of up to A $50 billion ($237.67 billion) and 250,000 jobs, but no major export sector has ever been so heavily regulated. "International students contributed more than half of Australia's GDP growth last year. The loss of income for universities will also reduce their ability to reinvest in other national development priorities."

Lloyd further said that "the other real danger of using international students for political gain is that in the global war for talent, we could lose out if we shut them out."

He added that "international competitors such as the UK and the US stand ready to profit from our bad policies".

According to Sky News Australia, Australian Education Minister Jason Clare strongly defended the new rules in an interview on the same day, claiming that the cap on the number of international students is "necessary" to return immigration to pre-epidemic levels.

In addition to Australia, Canada and the Netherlands have similarly tried to limit the number of foreign students in order to appease rising anti-immigrant sentiment in their countries.

According to Andrew Norton, a higher education policy expert at the Australian National University, the reason for the attack on international students is simply that politicians believe that students are "the easiest group to control" and that higher education institutions such as universities are not prominent enough in national elections. They are therefore a "legitimate" political target.