Opposition Leader Angus Taylor gave a forceful delivery of his Budget in Reply address to parliament. Photo: Screenshot.
Angus Taylor has committed the Coalition to a “citizens only” push that will deliver “one of the biggest cuts to immigration in the history of this country” and deport about 70,000 overstayers.
The Opposition Leader delivered a rousing budget reply speech in Parliament House on Thursday night (14 May), regularly raising his voice to stress points while criticising Labor.
He continued the Coalition’s long-held argument that Australia’s housing supply problems are directly linked to immigration levels and too many people being allowed into the country.
“[The Albanese] government always exceeds its immigration targets, and will do so again,” he said.
“The number of people coming in far exceeds the number of houses built. Consequently, the great Australian dream of home ownership is vanishing for old and new Australians alike … Never again will a government be able to bring in more people than our housing can support. That’s our commitment.
“Let me also stress this point: given the magnitude of people coming in under Labor, immigration will need to be significantly below our cap in the first few years of a Coalition government.
“We must allow the housing market to catch up.”
Mr Taylor said a future Coalition government would force permanent visa holders to learn English; make the Australian Values Statement an enforceable visa condition; and “enhance screening to stop radicals from entering our borders”.
Social security benefits and numerous government services would be reserved for Australian citizens only.
These would include the NDIS, Jobseeker, Youth Allowance and the Family Tax Benefit.
“We’ll scrap Labor’s housing bureaucracy, the ineffective Housing Australia Future Fund and its build to rent tax breaks for multinationals. We’ll remove Labor’s handouts for non-citizens,” the Opposition Leader said.
“Many Australians will be surprised to learn that non-citizens are eligible for welfare in this country.
“We’ve already announced that the first home buyer 5 per cent deposit scheme will be reserved for Australian citizens only.”
Mr Taylor outlined his target to deport 70,000 people, insisting sympathies must lie with migrants and Australians who abide by the law instead of illegal overstayers.
Describing this week’s Federal Budget as “an attack on every Australian”, Mr Taylor delivered a long list of what he said was wrong with it.
These were all policy points the Coalition will oppose in Opposition or reverse in government.
“As Labor’s own budget papers state, its tax hikes will reduce the number of houses available for young Australians to buy or to rent,” he said.
“Labor’s negative gearing changes will hand over housing investment to multinationals and foreign pension funds.
“Labor’s increase to the capital gains tax will discourage the investment Australia needs to grow.
“Labor is locking out young Australians from the opportunities afforded to older Australians to build wealth and prosperity to get ahead.
“Labor’s small business tax will punish small and family businesses that are already working harder than ever, and collapsing at record rates.”
Mr Taylor promised to index the bottom two income tax thresholds to inflation from 2028-29, and let businesses with a turnover of less than $10 million immediately deduct assets of up to $50,000.
He would also develop a national security strategy and appoint a dedicated national security adviser.
Fossil fuels were also a big talking point of the budget reply speech, with the Opposition Leader promising to keep coal-fired power plants open and “running as long and as hard as possible”.
And his government would heavily invest in new fuel storage.
“Ultimately, we want decades of fuel reserves and much more energy,” he said.
“We can achieve that by getting Australian resources out of the ground.
“The Coalition has said we will double our minimum reserves of petrol, diesel and jet fuel to put our total reserves within reach of 90 days.
“We will also invest $800 million for new fuel storage to give us 1 billion litres of additional capacity.”
The Federal Government immediately criticised the speech, with Housing Minister Clare O’Neil fronting the media to point out that none of the commitments was costed, despite shadow ministers spending the day saying they would be.
“Australian families are confronting real challenges. They’re worried about the cost of living. They’re worried about whether their kids are ever going to be able to get into a home of their own,” Ms O’Neil said.
“Now they might have tuned in tonight to hear what Angus Taylor had to say about this, and what they got was absolutely nothing.
“Instead of real answers to these problems, what they got was uncosted nonsense that won’t build a single home or pay a single bill for an Australian family…
“Angus Taylor is a Liberal straight out of central casting, and we know what that means. It means they’re coming after Medicare, they’re coming after education, and they’re coming after the services that your family relies on.”
One Nation MP, former National Barnaby Joyce, said Mr Taylor was “basically reading off the One Nation script”, and that the Coalition should “acknowledge One Nation’s policies past, present and emerging”.
Original Article published by Chris Johnson on Region Canberra.
