Liberal MPs have voiced alarm over Opposition Leader Angus Taylor's immigration policy, with one claiming the party's soul is being "corroded by hate." Several Liberal MPs now believe Pauline Hanson's One Nation party is dictating the Liberal agenda.
Taylor's Budget Reply Announcement
In his budget reply speech on Thursday night, Taylor confirmed the Coalition would directly link Australia's temporary immigration intake to the number of new homes built, using housing completion figures as a hard ceiling for overseas arrivals. This follows an escalation in Taylor's rhetoric on immigration, where he labelled certain countries as "bad," as the party attempts to stem voter defections to One Nation.
Internal Party Concerns
One Liberal MP, speaking anonymously to Guardian Australia, expressed concern that the language on migration was "dog whistling" and fueled by the threat of Hanson's minor right-wing party. "One Nation now controls the Liberal agenda," the MP said. "To have as your signature policy response to the budget attacking migrants should be seen as the white flag of surrender to One Nation onslaught. The soul of the Liberal party is now corroded by hate. Hate encouraged and fuelled by the panicked One Nation wannabes in the National party." The senior Liberal added that if the party fell into oblivion, "the only joy is that the National party would die before us."
Another Liberal MP welcomed the economic announcements, including indexing income tax brackets, but stressed the party needed to shift its focus away from immigration. "We're never going to out-One Nation on migration," the Liberal said.
Former MP's Warning
Former Liberal MP Jenny Ware, who lost her seat in the 2022 election, supported discussing curbing immigration and tying migration levels to infrastructure and housing construction. However, she warned Taylor against chasing Hanson. "The danger is in their rush to beat One Nation and to defeat One Nation that they are going to fall into the trap of the One Nation rhetoric and of thinking down to One Nation's level," she said. "We need to have this conversation about immigrants and infrastructure and housing. The danger in a lot of the rhetoric that I've heard, both implied and direct, is that we then start targeting certain groups."
Ware described migration as a "two-way street" between immigrants adopting Australian values and the government providing adequate infrastructure and services. She cautioned that the threat of One Nation was not just for the Liberal party but would also impact Labor.
Hanson's Response
Pauline Hanson has taken credit for the Liberals copying her policies, telling Nine news on Thursday: "Everyone knows that I set the agenda with politics in Australia because I'm listening to the Australian people, and if they want to pick up my policies, good luck to you, mate." Last month, Taylor announced he would block permanent residents from accessing a popular first home buyers program, a policy Hanson also claimed as her own.
Another Liberal MP backed the economic and immigration policies and was not concerned about appearing to copy One Nation, but acknowledged a risk that the public could "misinterpret the policy and see it as dog-whistling."
Reactions from Labor and Advocacy Groups
The budget reply was quickly condemned by immigrant advocacy groups, while Labor labelled the policies as dog-whistling. On Friday, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said: "The one permanent resident that Angus Taylor seems happy with is Pauline Hanson, who's a permanent resident in his head." Taylor denied on Thursday night that the announcements were aimed at stemming voter flow to One Nation and dismissed accusations that the party risked angering key multicultural demographics, telling the ABC's 7.30 program, "Citizenship is a privilege."
