‘A home not a hotel’: Coalition promises largest migration cut in Australian history

A Coalition government would slash temporary visa holders by 650,000 in an immigration crackdown that Opposition Leader Angus Taylor insists would not damage the budget bottom line.

The party would cut Australia’s net overseas migration to a third of its current levels, in what Taylor billed as “the biggest cut to immigration in the history of this country” at a press conference in Sydney on Tuesday.

“Australia should be a home, not a hotel. And right now, we’re seeing under Labor a guest worker economy,” Taylor said.

He vowed the Coalition would reduce net overseas migration – the number of long-term arrivals minus the number of departures – from 292,000 to 100,000 in the first and second year. That would increase to 160,000 by year four, he said.

The Coalition is the last to announce its migration policy after months of debate in Canberra and as One Nation soars in the polls on a tough-on-migration stance. Labor is trying to bring net overseas migration down to 225,000 in two years, while One Nation has proposed pushing the country into net negative migration for three years.

Temporary visa holders would bear the brunt of the cuts under the Coalition policy, with temporary graduate visas abolished entirely. Australia’s refugee intake would also be halved, to 10,000.

Taylor said visa applications would need to be made offshore, which would bring down the ballooning number of bridging visas.

“That will take pressure off roads, off schools, off infrastructure, off houses, and that will ensure that our country has the breathing space it needs,” he said.

Taylor said while 650,000 temporary visas would be cut, 100,000 skilled migrant visas would be added. He said a focus on skilled migration would benefit the economy, and insisted the changes would not cost the budget.

“We are very, very confident that that simple approach – reducing the numbers but raising the standards – ensures that it’s budget neutral and will strengthen the economy, improve productivity, improve competitiveness, improve the skills.”

Taylor said skilled workers brought in $30,000 in tax income and economic contributions, compared to between $7000 and $14000 for temporary graduates or students.

The opposition leader slammed Labor’s approach to migration policy, saying the government’s “whole economic strategy” was based on population growth.

The party’s home affairs spokesman, Jonno Duniam, said the policy “has thought, and effort, analysis put into it”.

“It is about ensuring our country gets what it needs when it comes to the workforce and the people to do the jobs that we need doing in this country, so that our economy can continue to function,” he said.

One Nation previously advocated for 130,000 more people arriving than departing. But last month, under pressure from its right-wing online base, it backflipped and released a policy to go into negative territory, meaning more people would depart than arrive, for three years. After three years of negative inflows, One Nation said the figure would then settle at the 130,000 figure.

This means the Coalition’s policy lands somewhere in between One Nation’s uncosted plan and Labor’s forecasts.

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce said on Tuesday his party was driving the political agenda after this masthead revealed the Coalition was preparing to unveil its plan for deep migration cuts.

“I congratulate the Coalition for basically coming up with our policy,” Joyce told Nine’s Today show. “We are moving both the Labor Party, we’re moving the Coalition.

Asked about what One Nation’s proposal would do to the economy, Joyce claimed Australians’ priority was bringing migration numbers down and dismissed the need to cost policies.

“If you want to be run by the public parliamentary budget office… let’s put them on the balance sheet, and you can go vote for them. If you want to be run by people who reflect what you wish, then One Nation is a very good place to go,” he said.

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