Tony Burke, left, and Anthony Albanese arrive at Question Time on Wednesday. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

By Michelle Grattan in Canberra

The government will keep the permanent migration level for 2025-26 at 185,000, the same level as the previous financial year.

Immigration Minister Tony Burke announced the figure amid a fresh divisive debate about immigration, intensified by the weekend marches calling for lower numbers.

Neo-Nazis were prominent, especially in Melbourne, while on Tuesday self-identifying Neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell interrupted a news conference by Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan.

Burke said the announcement followed consultation with the states and territories which “recommended maintaining the size and composition of the program, with a focus on skilled migration”.

This fi

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