Coalition targets ‘bad country’ migrants in values test
Tighter controls are needed to ensure “bad people” from “bad countries” do not come to Australia, the opposition leader said.
But Angus Taylor refused to say which countries should be deemed bad in comments made after the first phase of the coalition’s immigration policy was announced in early April.
The Liberal Party leader said immigrants from like-minded countries had made Australia better, but there needed to be a tougher look at the values of immigrants from some countries.
In his speech announcing the policy in mid-April, Mr Taylor said immigration screening should be based on beliefs, adding that people from liberal democracies were more likely to embrace Australian values.
“Let’s be clear, some of the great Australians came from what were bad countries at the time,” he told the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday.
“There is a higher risk that some bad people will come from these bad countries, and so what we need to do is we need to screen not by country of origin, not by race, but by values.”
When asked which countries were bad, Mr Taylor only mentioned Iran by name and refused to say whether he considered countries such as communist party-ruled China as part of the same group.
“The government itself has implemented legislation that will make it harder for people to come from Iran,” he said.
Mr Taylor’s comments come as the coalition faces a multi-candidate showdown in the Farrer by-election on May 9.
The vote in regional NSW constituencies, triggered by the resignation of former opposition leader Sussan Ley, is shaping up as a contest between One Nation and independent candidate Michelle Milthorpe.
The coalition has held the seat since its founding, but a recent poll shows One Nation’s candidate is a frontrunner to win the resurgent anti-immigration party’s first seat in the lower house.
Party leader Pauline Hanson will address an anti-immigration rally in Canberra on Sunday.
One Nation is calling for Australia’s annual immigration intake to be capped at 130,000 per year, down from net overseas migration of more than 300,000 people in the 2024/25 financial year.
Asked whether this target was correct, Mr Taylor said current levels were too high and the figure needed to be “sustainable”.
“It needs to be compatible with the housing infrastructure and services we have in this country,” he said.
“Just as the standards are too low, the numbers are too high.”
