Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has promised “one of the biggest cuts to immigration in the history of this country” in a “citizens only” push seemingly aimed at warding off the One Nation surge to the Coalition’s right.
The centrepiece of the Liberal leader’s budget reply tonight was a proposal to tie migration rates to housing construction, along tax reforms to save hundreds of dollars for those on lower incomes.
The anti-immigration push drew accusations of policy stealing from Pauline Hanson and criticism from Labor that Taylor was trying to “out-One Nation” the right-wing party’s leader.
“The number of people coming in far exceeds the number of houses built,” he said.
“Consequently, the great Australian dream of home ownership is vanishing for old and new Australians alike.”
Taylor declared that a government he leads would deliver “one of the biggest cuts to immigration in Australian history” and promised to deport 70,000 “overstayers”.
“Never again will a government be able to bring in more people than our housing can support. That’s our commitment,” he said.
“Let me also stress this point: given the magnitude of people coming in under Labor, immigration will need to be significantly below our cap in the first few years of a Coalition government. We must allow the housing market to catch up.”
Taylor refused to put a number to his pledge, saying he would provide a precise number of how many immigrants he would cut closer to the 2028 federal election.
Speaking to the ABC right after his speech, he was pushed on the figure and said a government he leads would have immigration rates below 200,000.
Taylor also shared his plan to block non-citizens, including permanent residents, from accessing welfare support and the 5 per cent home deposit scheme.
“We’ll scrap Labor’s housing bureaucracy, the ineffective housing Australia Future Fund and its build to rent tax breaks for multinationals, we’ll remove Labor’s handouts for non-citizens,” he said.
“Many Australians will be surprised to learn that non-citizens are eligible for welfare in this country. We’ve already announced that the first home buyer 5 per cent deposit scheme will be reserved for Australian citizens only.”
Permanent residents pay tax and in many cases are on the pathway to becoming Australian citizens. Some countries, such as China and India, do not allow dual citizenships, meaning these immigrants would need to renounce their birth nationality in order to become Australian citizens.
Another headline measure was the Working Australians Tax Offset, a $250 reduction for 13.3 million taxpayers.
Taylor backed the WATO and added more relief for lower-income workers, promising to index the bottom two tax brackets to inflation in a move aimed at addressing bracket creep, which forces people to pay more tax even if their wage increases aren’t actually keeping up with the rising cost of living.
But he refused to support the changes to negative gearing and capital gains, instead hammering Labor for breaking an election promise not to change the investor benefits and claiming his immigration cuts would get more Australians into their own homes.
Interviewed on the ABC, he couldn’t put a number on how much the indexation would cost the budget or how a Coalition government would find the savings to pay for it.
Hanson praised the Liberals’ rightwards shift but accused the Coalition of stealing her policies.
“I don’t employ policy experts to write Coalition policy, but after the data breach in Parliament House it’s not hard to imagine why their budget reply is replete with One Nation policies,” she said earlier in the day, reacting to elements of the speech published in the media ahead of time.
“While they’ve been telling everyone that One Nation has no policies, they’ve been reading them very carefully because they’re desperate for some good ideas. I’m pleased they’ve seen some light at last.”
Along with the immigration cuts, Taylor outlined plans to scrap net-zero, push nuclear energy, boost businesses and industries through tax write-offs and removing red tape, cut government spending, and create a Future Generation Fund to invest in nation-building infrastructure.
Speaking to reporters at Parliament House after the speech ended, Housing Minister Clare O’Neil said Taylor was trying to “out-One Nation One Nation” by targeting migrants.
“If people like what Pauline Hanson is putting down, they’re going to vote for them, not for you. I think we should take a much more principled approach here,” she told reporters.
“We’re a great migrant country, and I’ll continue to defend that.” 
Earlier today, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the opposition’s budget reply was a “ploy to stave off One Nation”.
One Nation Senator Barnaby Joyce, who defected from the Nationals, said the speech would not stop the flow towards his new party.
The Coalition suffered a devastating loss at the Farrer by-election last Saturday after One Nation passed its first federal test and snatched the seat from them for the first time in its 77-year history.
One Nation has witnessed a record rise in support in the polls, which saw it ride the wave of support to win seven new state MPs at the South Australian election and then Farrer.
The Coalition has been losing voters after their historic loss at last year’s federal election and leadership challenges this year.
Joyce said One Nation would be prepared to work with the Liberals and nationals but not to the extent of entering a formal coalition.
“What we would do is we would offer supply and confidence to people who would take on board our policy structure,” he told the ABC.
“We do not want the prizes. We do not want the ministries. So you can keep all the prizes, but there’ll be certain policy outcomes.
“For instance, scrapping the climate change department and or climate change policy and reallocating those resources to where they better suit Australia.”
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