Pauline Hanson does 'not care' if immigration cuts impact businesses

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says she does not care if cuts to skilled migration negatively impact Australian businesses.She made the comments as Labor was deadling with the fallout of leaked elements of a proposed overhaul of immigration.In a since-shelved speech, Immigration Minister Tony Burke was poised to unveil plans to prevent the partners and children of Australian citizens from applying for family visas on-shore, and to impose limits on working holiday visas.The Australian Chamber of Commerce said such a move would deter skilled migrants from coming to Australia, "undermine" the migration system and hurt the economy.Senator Hanson told News24 (formerly Sky News) she did "not care" what effect sweeping immigration cuts would have on businesses."I don't care what people think," she said."Whether it is going to affect their businesses, they're not going to sell that many products, or you know, the universities because they're not going to have that number of foreign students coming in here. I don't care."My concern is for those Australians that can't get a roof over their head, and a decent standard of living and way of life."In the same interview, Senator Hanson said she wanted to change the skilled migration list to prioritise doctors, nurses, engineers and others who would "benefit our country".Seantor Hanson told News24 she did "not care" about the impact to businesses. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)Hanson confirms cut would only apply to permanent migrationOne Nation's policy is to cut migration to 130,000 per year, but until now it has been unclear if that number would be applied to net overseas migration (NOM) or permanent migration.NOM is the net increase in Australia's population from people arriving minus people leaving, while permanent migration is only the number of people granted permanent visas, regardless of whether they arrive or leave.One Nation has previously been critical of the government's inability to reduce NOM, which can largely be linked to international students, working holiday-makers and other temporary visa holders.On Thursday, Senator Hanson confirmed One Nation's cap of 130,000 only applied to permanent migration."That will be permanent migration in to the country. We'd still allow for backpackers, for workers coming in to Australia, those one will be here for the short period of time. You've also got your tourists on top of that, that's a different visa," Senator Hanson said.The governments 2026–27 permanent migration intake is 185,000 places.She also indicated the 130,000 cap might only be temporary, claiming it would give Australia, which was "overwhelmed", a "breather"."I'm not saying 130,000 permanently, you know, on the books. Let's review it every year," she said.One Nation also wants to introduce an eight-year waiting period for citizenship and welfare, and refuse entry to migrants from nations "known to foster extremist ideologies" that are "incompatible with Australian values".Although One Nation has not specified which countries this relates to, except for Gaza, Senator Hanson told parliament in 2016 that people with a Muslim faith bore a culture and ideology that was "incompatible with our own", claiming Australia was at risk of being "swamped by Muslims".Her focus has shifted since she entered parliament in 1996, when she declared Australia was in danger of being "swamped by Asians".