Labor has launched a scathing attack on Pauline Hanson’s new immigration policy, warning key industries would be ‘decimated’ under the plan.

Hanson revealed One Nation’s sweeping plan to cut Australia’s temporary migrant population by 750,000 over three years on Monday.

The overhaul would push net overseas migration below zero during a three-year ‘reset’, before capping annual arrivals at 130,000.

One Nation would target Australia’s temporary migrant population under the plan, which has grown to around three million.

This would cap international student visas at 100,000 a year, tighten pathways to permanent residency, reduce temporary graduate visas, and remove access to secondary visas for the families of skilled migrants.

Reacting to the new policy, Labor frontbencher Murray Watt warned on ABC Radio National Breakfast it would cripple sectors that depend on migrant labour.

‘I don’t know when Pauline Hanson or Barnaby Joyce last walked into an abattoir in regional Australia full of migrant workers, when they last walked into a hospital, an aged care facility,’ he said.

‘Those industries would be decimated if we don’t have some form of migration to Australia,’ Watt said.

Murray Watt (pictured) warned the policy would cripple sectors reliant on migrant labour

Pauline Hanson (pictured) unveiled her party’s plan to slash migration by 750,000 on Monday

The idea has also alarmed farming groups, who argued the sector cannot function without migrant workers.

National Farmers’ Federation president Hamish McIntyre told Nine the cuts would have a ‘terrible impact’ on farmers and could drive up food prices.

McIntyre said one in seven farm workers was a working holiday maker, and warned growers could struggle to fill roles if migration numbers were slashed.

‘We don’t want to get involved in the politics. We just need people in regional Australia to do these jobs for us,’ he said.

‘There’s just not enough out here in regional Australia, local Australians, to do it any more.’

Business groups also quickly condemned the proposal.

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said the group supported measures to bolster integrity in the system, but not drastic cuts aiming for an arbitrary target.

‘The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry does not support wholesale cuts to Australia’s migration program to meet an arbitrary Net Overseas Migration number,’ McKellar said.

One Nation would target Australia’s temporary migrant population under the plan, which has grown to around three million 

‘Major cuts that reduce skilled migration would damage our economy, hit the Budget and weaken our capacity to provide services for, and lift, living standards for Australians.’

He said businesses across multiple sectors continue to rely heavily on migrant labour.

‘Many Australian businesses would be put at risk by major cuts to the migration program. Pubs, cafes, hotels and accommodation providers desperately need chefs,’ McKellar added.

‘Aged care homes and hospitals are short of staff already. Farmers and resources sector businesses continue to face persistent workforce shortages.’

‘Housing projects are being held up, while others remain unviable because of lack of workforce and skills shortages.’

He argued that skills shortages, not migration levels, are holding the economy back.

‘The real constraints on Australia’s economy are skills shortages, over-regulation and high taxes. That is what is driving up prices and holding us back,’ he said.

The Coalition also questioned the viability of Hanson’s proposal, even as they argued migration levels remain too high under Labor.

Shadow Defence Minister Andrew Hastie said One Nation had not explained the economic and social consequences of its plan.

‘What we don’t know about Pauline Hanson’s policy is the economic, the fiscal, and the human impact it will have,’ Hastie told the Today show.

‘She posted on Facebook, in the last hour, her policy, but we don’t know what the modelling or the costing is, and it’s up to her to come out and explain that to the Australian people.’

Hastie said the Coalition remains committed to reducing migration, but wants a more measured approach linked to housing supply.

‘We’ve said that we’re going to cut net overseas migration below the amount of houses that are built every year because housing is a massive issue,’ he said.