In brief
- Angus Taylor says he has "enormous respect" for Liberal Party voters defecting to One Nation.
- Taylor says that bringing voters back into the fold means regaining lost trust.
The Opposition leader says he has "huge respect" for the voters the Liberal Party is losing to One Nation and has vowed to win them back.
Angus Taylor used his budget reply to promise the "biggest cut to migration in Australia's history".
The policy would be underpinned by linking net overseas migration — the number of arrivals into the country minus departures — to housing supply and cutting off a series of welfare programs that include the National Disability Insurance Scheme and JobSeeker for any migrants who don't hold Australian citizenship. That would include taxpaying permanent residents.
In an interview with SBS News, Taylor rejected One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's claim that he's copied her party's policies, which are also underpinned by significant immigration cuts.
"No, we're moving to Australians. We know Australians are deeply concerned about the direction this country is going in," he said.
But he also acknowledged the Liberal-National Coalition is facing a battle for votes, in the wake of One Nation's win in the Farrer by-election and broader polling trends measuring significant national backing for Pauline Hanson.
"I have huge respect for many of the people who are planning to, or have been planning to, vote for One Nation. I realise that we have lost trust with people who have voted for us in the past or considered voting for us in the past, and we have to regain that trust," Taylor said.
"There's been in the past, I think, a lack of honesty from politicians, and I think that has to change, and so I will continue to show huge respect to voters who have lost respect or lost trust for us. I want that to change."
Labor holds an enormous lower house majority of 94 seats in the federal parliament. One Nation has identified seats held by the Opposition, Labor and independents as being in its sights at the next election in 2028.
But Taylor has played down any likelihood of expanding the Liberal-National Coalition to include One Nation.
"Look, honestly, this sort of nonsense about forming some kind of coalition … they've won one seat in the House of Representatives, and they've got one other person who's moved from the National Party."
Labor has described the Opposition's new immigration policy as "dog-whistling" and migrant advocates have raised concerns about the impact on diaspora communities of the Coalition's decision to formally link immigration to housing supply.
He argues Australia has "seen a level of migration in this country under Labor, which is completely unsustainable".
"I want us to remain a great immigrant nation, but that is only possible if we get it right."
Taylor is yet to confirm the net overseas migration reduction the Opposition would attempt to achieve, or which visa categories would be targeted.
"Each year the housing minister will look at the number of houses that have been built in that year, and say, based on that, we can have population growth, whatever the number is, which will have an implication for net overseas migration. It will then be the job of the government to reach that target."
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