Coalition urged to ignore ‘opinions of Pauline Hanson’ as it weighs hardline approach to immigration | Australian immigration and asylum
As the opposition considers a strict plan to speed up deportations, lawyers warn that restricting procedural rights for asylum seekers will trigger further objections and keep people “in limbo for years”.
Ogy Simic, head of advocacy at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, implored the Coalition to listen to the advice of experts “not the views of Pauline Hanson” when developing an immigration policy designed in part to combat the political threat of One Nation.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley is expected to announce the “principles” of the Coalition’s approach to immigration next week; This principle would commit to reducing net overseas migration without setting a number of its own.
The opposition is exploring options to force visa holders to adhere to “Australian values” as part of a wider strategy and with Pressures on universities with high proportions of international students.
An internal document suggests it is also considering new restrictions on foreigners buying property, following a two-year freeze on existing homes in April.
Ley, whose support for One Nation is bleeding and under pressure from right-wingers in her own ranks including Andrew Hastie, has indicated she intends to quickly set flags on immigration to avoid a repeat of the months-long fight for a net zero target.
However, it appears that the tenor of the debate has caused concern within the opposition; Liberal MPs are concerned the policy and how it is delivered risks further alienating immigrant communities who abandoned the Coalition in the last two federal elections.
Shadow ministers Jonno Duniam and Paul Scarr, who developed the plan with Ley, argued that Labor’s mismanagement of the immigration system, not immigrants, was responsible for problems such as housing shortages and traffic congestion.
“At the heart of this you will find common sense [policy]. I know Labor would like to say we are racist and divisive. Sorry, we’re not,” Duniam said in an interview with Sky News last month.
Backers of the coalition debated the policy on Wednesday afternoon ahead of a shadow cabinet meeting to approve the principles to be announced next week.
A discussion paper distributed to MPs by Guardian Australia accused Labor of overseeing a “broken” visa regime and failing to act against “malicious actors exploiting loopholes” in the system.
It was noted that there was an “explosion” in the number of people who have not yet been deported after their protection visa requests were rejected. Home Office figures show this figure rises to more than 100,000 by October 2025, but includes those awaiting appeal results at the court or judicial stages.
The opposition is understood to be considering options to restrict applicants’ procedural rights; These options include preventing applicants from presenting new evidence long after an appeal has been filed, clearing the backlog and potentially paving the way for faster deportations.
‘It slows down the system’
Stripping applicants of their rights “doesn’t speed anything up,” Simic said.
“It slows down the system, creates more interest, and keeps people in limbo for years,” he said.
“People seeking asylum do not want this. Front-loaded decision-making capacity is in everyone’s interests, strengthening both the integrity of the system and the security of those who rely on it.
“We hope [the Coalition] Base your decisions on evidence and listening to experts, not Pauline Hanson’s opinions.”
International refugee law expert Daniel Ghezelbash said there were “no shortcuts to reducing Australia’s asylum backlog.”
“You can throw as much money as you want [ramping up deportations] But it is very difficult to forcibly remove people from Australia, especially if they have been living in the community for many years. “We are not an autocratic state, we have the rule of law and people have the right to judicial review,” he said.
“The only sustainable solution is fair and expeditious action; the longer a person remains in limbo, the stronger the legal and ethical barriers to removal.”
The number of noncitizens deported in each month of 2025 fluctuated between five and 20.
A government spokesman said the backlog of protection visa requests was a “signature issue” created under the Coalition.
The coalition’s discussion paper also points the finger at universities with large numbers of international students, accusing them of forgetting that their “core mission is to educate Australian students”.
It asks what options should be considered to ensure an “appropriate mix” of domestic and international students on campuses, and what responsibilities universities should have regarding the “housing pressures” created by international students.
The paper also noted that many voters are concerned about the “influx” of foreigners “hugging” locals out of the housing market and asked lawmakers to consider what restrictions should be placed on non-citizens buying homes.
The government this year banned foreign investors from buying existing homes for two years after adopting one of the Coalition’s own policies.
The numbers are small; only foreign buyers purchased 2,064 existing homes In 2023/24.
