Barnaby Joyce’s PALM worker claim fuels confusion over One Nation target

Barnaby Joyce has mistakenly claimed only “a few” temporary workers from the Pacific Islands contribute to Australia’s net overseas migration (NOM) count, fuelling further confusion about One Nation’s immigration target.

The One Nation MP was defending a claim made by leader Pauline Hanson that the number of workers arriving in Australia under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme would be added “on top” of the party’s NOM target of 130,000.

Senator Hanson has previously said One Nation’s target is “less than half Labor’s current level”. Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows the NOM in 2024-25 was 306,000, down from 429,000 a year earlier.

“She’s been absolutely ... clear in our party room meetings, where she’s ... said basically what I’ve said: ‘Stop bringing up the PALM scheme because it’s not a part of your net overseas migration numbers, except for a few who overstay their visas or stay longer’,” Mr Joyce told News24’s Sunday Agenda.

“I acknowledge, once they go over 12 months, bang, they’re in the NOM number.

“But we’ve said the NOM number will be as high, but no higher than 130,000, and we will be (taking) a stocktake of what where can where they can go, the requirements of what we need and the capacity of this nation to absorb them.”

The final NOM figure can include temporary workers if they remain in Australia for a cumulative total of 12 months out of any 16-month window.

PALM workers can arrive on a short-term placement of up to nine months or a long-term placement of up to four years. As of June 2026, about half of the 32,645 PALM workers in the country were on long-term visas, thus including them in the final NOM count.

The debate surrounding One Nation’s migration target was sparked by the party’s first elected MP, David Farley who described the party’s goal of 130,000 total net overseas migrants as the “true form” of the figure.

He argued this target excluded other forms of migration, including temporary PALM workers, skilled workers, and backpackers, among others, which would add at least 100,000 people to One Nation’s target.

This would bring One Nation’s estimates close to that of Labor’s, which has set a NOM target of 245,000 for 2026-27 and 225,000 for both 2027-28 and 2028-29.

Later, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy pointed to Mr Joyce’s mistake in his criticism of the party for its inconsistent position on migration.

“Half of all PALM workers are on the four-year visa, so they would count for the NOM,” Mr Conroy told News24.

“So, if they’re arguing that PALM is on top of 130,000, they’re arguing for a much more substantial figure than what they said only this week.”