The Coalition wants immigration numbers reduced and the doors shut to those who won’t uphold Australian values. Photo: Department of Home Affairs.
Immigration is the hottest topic in Australian politics right now as new Opposition Leader Angus Taylor homes in on what he perceives as the current BBQ stopper.
He wants Australia to shut the door to migrants who want to bring violence here with them, and he wants government intelligence agencies to conduct more checks on visa holders from what he says are “high-risk regions” of the world.
“We need an immigration policy that raises the standards, reduces the numbers, and importantly, shuts the door to people that want to bring hate and violence to our shores from another place,” Mr Taylor said in a recent media interview.
“Importantly, we need to make sure that we shut the door on people who don’t adopt our core values and beliefs – that’s a belief in democracy, the rule of law, obedience to the law and our core freedoms.
“They are things we talk about in citizenship ceremonies because they are right at the heart of what it is that’s made us the great nation.
“If someone’s not a citizen, and they’re temporarily here in this country, and it’s clear that they don’t adopt those core values, they should go. I don’t think that’s particularly controversial.”
The Opposition Leader has dismissed as invalid a policy document his predecessor Sussan Ley created that proposed banning migrants from Gaza, Somalia and the Philippines.
Mr Taylor said he wasn’t in on that idea and hadn’t read the document, but thinks high-risk regions, rather than specific countries, should be the focus of Australia’s migration policies.
He insists immigration numbers are now too high and that most Australians agree with him.
The Federal Government has moved to reduce net overseas migration following a post-pandemic record high of 550,000 in 2023. Numbers have declined over the past three years but remain above pre-pandemic levels, around 306,000 in 2024-25.
Former Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson was commissioned by Labor shortly after it was elected in 2022 to review the nation’s migration system.
This week, Dr Parkinson bought into the debate again to decry the “culture wars garbage” and said updating the points test used for the selection of skilled migrants should be the focus of the debate instead.
Such a move would improve trust in Australia’s migration system, Dr Parkinson said, and also boost productivity.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson kept the culture wars alive this week by publicly declaring there was no such thing as a good Muslim.
Appearing on Sky News, Senator Hanson accused the government of “bending over backwards” to bring in more migrants.
She said she had no time for radical Islam because the religion was “all about” hating Westerners.
“You say, ‘Well, there’s good Muslims out there’. How can you tell me there are good Muslims?” Senator Hanson said.
Her comments were roundly condemned as a “racist intervention” across much of the political spectrum, and by Muslim and community leaders.
Anthony Albanese was particularly scathing of the remarks, and Senator Hanson, when he was asked about them on Thursday (19 February).
The Prime Minister said such comments tried to legitimise and mainstream racism in Australia.
“Pauline Hanson is a divisive figure. She’s made a political career out of seeking to divide Australians against each other, and what we need is more unity, not more division,” Mr Albanese said.
“Pauline Hanson is ready to divide people. She is someone who often doesn’t participate in the Senate but is busy off just campaigning. She’s a negative force in Australian politics.
“I understand that people are frustrated and that fear can be a powerful emotion.
“But what we need in this country is hope, is optimism, and is looking forward with a serious positive policy agenda. And Pauline Hanson does not do that.”
The Prime Minister also said his government is not helping a group of women and children, who are linked to Islamic State fighters, return to Australia from Syria, even though they have been issued Australian passports because they are Australian citizens.
“We followed the law and we followed the advice of the authorities,” he said.
“The government is providing no support for the repatriation of these people or any support whatsoever. I have nothing but contempt for these people.
“I have contempt for their parents who have put these children in that situation … We have a firm position, which is that the mothers in this case, who made this decision to travel overseas against Australia’s national interests, are the responsible ones who’ve put their children in this position.
“We will do nothing to assist these people coming back to Australia.”
Mr Taylor insists the group shouldn’t be allowed back into Australia at all.
“The fact of the matter is, these people are supporters of ISIS. They went to another country to support ISIS, and shouldn’t be coming back into the country,” the Opposition Leader said.
