Albanese Criticises Coalition’s Immigration Policy
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has strongly criticized Opposition Leader Angus Taylor for the Coalition’s immigration policy, calling his estimate for migration levels “plucked out.” During the Coalition’s budget reply in parliament on Thursday, Mr. Taylor outlined measures that would link net overseas migration to housing completions and index the bottom two tax brackets at inflation.
If elected, the Coalition plans to exclude non-citizens, including permanent residents, from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and 17 other social benefit schemes. However, Mr. Taylor has not disclosed the exact number of new arrivals a Coalition government would accept, stating it would be tied to housing completion rates. On Sunday, he told Sky News that the number would be a 70 per cent reduction from “Labor’s peak immigration numbers” and well below 200,000.
Currently, Treasury estimates net overseas migration to be 295,000 for the 2025–26 financial year. Speaking later, Mr. Albanese dismissed Mr. Taylor’s 70 per cent figure as “plucked out.”
“Seventy per cent from what base … who’d know. You don’t know, and he wouldn’t know either,” he told media in Tasmania. Mr. Albanese emphasized that Mr. Taylor’s comments suggested a separation between Australians and migrants, which he found unacceptable.
“In this country, with the exception of First Nations people, we’re all either migrants or descendants of migrants going back generations,” he said. “When you look at permanent residents, they contribute much more in taxation revenue than they do in any cost which might be associated with that.”
Mr. Albanese claimed Mr. Taylor’s speech was “all about fighting One Nation” and pledged to “work across the political spectrum” while flanked by Tasmania’s Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockcliff.
The Price You Pay
Mr. Taylor denied on Sunday that the measure would force permanent residents, who may have lived in Australia for decades, to become citizens. Instead, he stated it was their “choice to become an Australian citizen.” However, he added that there is a “price you pay for that.”
“I mean, look, Australian citizenship has to matter. We live in one of the greatest countries in the world. Those who come here and don’t want to be citizens, they still get a great benefit of being part of what I believe is the greatest country on earth.”
Mr. Taylor denied the measure targeted a specific nationality, despite concerns from Chinese and Indian Australians whose home countries do not recognize dual citizenship. He emphasized that Australia allows dual citizenship, and while other countries make choices about that, it is up to them.
“We allow dual citizenship in this country. Other countries make choices about that, we don’t control that. That is up to them. But, we must attach privileges to Australian citizenship. That’s what we’re proposing here.”
Mr. Taylor said while Australia would continue to recognize dual citizenship, some people would have to make a choice. “If you want the full privileges of being a citizen, you must commit to the country,” he said.
He also denied the measures showed the Coalition was panicked about the rise of One Nation. “We are upset and deeply, deeply concerned, by the failures of this Labor government. That’s the real issue,” he said.
Questions Over Quotas and Costings
Mr. Taylor has yet to reveal exactly how the Coalition’s net migration target will be determined or how much the benefit changes would save. “There’s many billions of saving, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “We’ll put all our costings out, as is the convention … in the lead up to the election. But, it’s many billions of savings in this.”
Mr. Taylor refused to be drawn on what migration levels would be under the Coalition’s cuts, with levels tied to housing completion rates. “Right now, we know that it would be at least a 70 per cent reduction from Labor’s peak immigration numbers – (that) would be well below 200,000,” he said.
Asked about the need for more tradies, Mr. Taylor emphasized the need to not just bring down immigration numbers but also “get the standards up.” “That includes making sure we’ve got we’re getting the skills we need,” he said.
Mr. Taylor said the Coalition would not oppose Labor’s $250 Working Australians Tax Offset in the Senate, guaranteeing its passage through both houses and into law.
‘Least Responsible’ Budget Reply
Treasurer Jim Chalmers described Mr. Taylor’s budget reply as “the least responsible” he had seen. Referring to tax bracket changes, Mr. Chalmers said it would add “a quarter of a trillion dollars over the decade” in debt.
“When you provide these tax cuts, you have to do it in the most responsible and affordable way and you have to take into consideration the economic conditions at the time,” he said. “What Angus Taylor is proposing to do is to pump the most money into the economy when inflation is already at its highest.”
Mr. Chalmers said the government would return bracket creep – when inflation pushes workers into a higher tax bracket – and in the budget “created room to return more in the future.”
