Slashing foreign student numbers would cripple research, uni head says

Key points

• The University of Tasmania's vice-chancellor, Rufus Black, has warned that the national migration debate is harming Australia's reputation in Asia. Speaking to a state parliamentary inquiry in Hobart, he said international students help fund research.
• He said cuts proposed by the Coalition and One Nation would have a major economic impact and could take years to recover from.
• The Coalition's new policy would cut international student commencements to 240,000 a year, while One Nation has proposed a limit of 100,000.