Coalition targets 100,000 net migrants as One Nation hardens stance
Coalition leader Angus Taylor proposed cutting net overseas migration to 100,000 annually, but One Nation's stricter targets appeal to voters.
Coalition leader Angus Taylor released a migration policy this week targeting net overseas migration (NOM) at 100,000 per year for the first two years. By year four, NOM would rise to 160,000.
Australia's NOM of roughly 300,000 would be cut by two-thirds. One Nation's position goes further: a negative NOM at first, rising to 130,000.
Political strategist Simon Welsh says there's a real trap for the Liberals. Talking about migration doesn't win new Liberal voters.
Instead, it makes voters turn to One Nation. When major parties validate the issue, voters simply ask: who has the strongest voice?
'It's a massive strategic error,' Welsh says. The policy targets temporary graduate visas and could reduce foreign student numbers.
Business groups have already pushed back, warning they won't find the workers they need. Aged care, farming and other labour-short sectors rely on migrants.
- roughly 300,000
- Current net migration
- 100,000
- Coalition target year 1-2
- 160,000
- Coalition target year 4
- negative initially to 130,000
- One Nation target trajectory
Why it mattersThe policy determines Australia's labour supply and economic growth for years.
AustraliaIf the Coalition wins and enforces this target, Australia admits significantly fewer migrants, potentially tightening labour-short sectors like aged care and farming, raising costs for consumers and businesses, and cutting international education revenue. Employers are warning the government may abandon the target if labour shortages bite.
Corroborated bytheconversation.com
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
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