00:01Angus Taylor, the opposition leader, outlined the policy in a speech earlier today, and
00:07he floated several different ideas.
00:09First, he wants to see increased background checks on the social media accounts for people
00:15who want to enter Australia.
00:17Not too dissimilar, I suppose, to the policy in the United States under Donald Trump.
00:23This is something that happens to an extent by the Australian border force, but Angus
00:28Taylor wants to see a more coordinated response between security agencies when doing those
00:33background checks.
00:34He also wants to see a stricter adherence and upholding of Australian values.
00:39There is currently an Australian values test that migrants need to sign when they come
00:45to Australia, but the coalition wants to make it legally binding so that if someone wasn't
00:50upholding those Australian values, they would be kicked out of the country.
00:54He also, within that, he wants it to be an obligation for permanent residents to learn
01:01at least a certain standard of English.
01:04And speaking of permanent residents as well, he wants to remove their eligibility for the
01:105% home deposit scheme, which allows first home buyers to help get their foot in the door
01:15with a smaller down payment.
01:18Now, it's worth flagging that these permanent residents are often people who work and pay
01:23taxes and live in Australia, they're looking to become citizens in some scenarios, and so
01:28buying a first home is a goal of theirs, and many of them take up that 5% scheme.
01:35So, what message, Isabella, is Angus Taylor trying to send with this policy?
01:41Well, it's his first policy announcement as leader, and so it's clear that he is wanting
01:47to appeal to the right flank of the coalition, and also to those voters that they have been
01:53losing to the right, to One Nation.
01:55One of One Nation's key policies is their migration policy, saying that migrants are impacting the
02:02Australian way of life, particularly in areas like the housing crisis.
02:06And Angus Taylor's policy today leans into some of that rhetoric.
02:10There were some pretty big and strong statements from Angus Taylor today.
02:14He says some migrants are a net drain on society and are here for transactional reasons, and
02:20that some are eroding our way of life.
02:23But behind these big claims, the policy is still pretty light on.
02:27The ideas have been announced, but not how they will work in practice.
02:32And the Liberal Party also haven't put numbers on it.
02:35They want to see migration come down, but haven't said by how much or from what groups they will
02:40draw from.
02:41Australia has a non-discriminatory immigration program.
02:44We don't discriminate based on nationality, race, gender or faith.
02:50But for an immigration program to work in the national interest, it must discriminate based
02:57on values.
02:58We must dispense with the naive thinking that has dominated our immigration policy for too
03:03long.
03:04Our nation has paid the price for believing that anyone from anywhere will embrace our
03:10way of life.
03:12Not everyone wanting to migrate to Australia has a noble intent.
03:16Not everyone wanting to migrate to Australia will be a net benefit to Australia.
03:20Indeed, some will be a net drain.
03:21And what kind of response has there been to this announcement?
03:25Well, it's been mixed as expected.
03:28We know that a lot of Australians do think that the current immigration settings aren't
03:32serving in Australia's best interest.
03:34Others, however, say that migrants are being blamed for problems that they are not the root
03:40cause of.
03:41Here's what the race discrimination commissioner had to say on that just a bit earlier.
03:47I think there will definitely be pushback and I've already seen pushback from migrant communities
03:52who are quite frankly a bit sick of being blamed for all of the problems that are occurring
03:57now.
03:57I mean, if fuel prices go up, migrants get blamed.
04:01If you can't buy a house, migrants get blamed.
04:03If you're stuck in traffic, migrants get blamed.
04:05It's unfair.
04:06It's discriminatory.
04:08And it's not actually tackling the real sources of inequity within our society.
04:15The federal government has also slammed the policy, Immigration and Home Affairs Minister
04:20Tony Burke saying that nothing in the policy will do anything to build more homes or get
04:27more jobs for Australians here, saying that it's not acting in the nation's interest.
04:32He also pointed out how much we rely on migrants in some of those key areas, pointing out that
04:3757% of our GPs are born overseas, 40% of our aged care and disability workers are born overseas.
04:44Some of those key sectors where we really do need staff.
04:47The Greens have also criticised Angus Taylor and the rhetoric he's used today.
04:52David Shoebridge saying now is the time where we need leadership that unites us and
04:56isn't based on excluding people.
04:59So some in support, some say it's too harsh, but Angus Taylor will need to find his footing
05:05on this tightrope that he's navigating.
05:08Many migrant communities take up voting bases in some of those seats in inner city or outer
05:16suburbs that the Liberal Party will be wanting to win back at an election.
05:21And so he'll be looking to sell this policy without angering too much of those communities
05:26that he will need to get on board.
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