Liberal party ‘corroded by hate’ MP says amid concerns of ‘dog whistling’ on immigration | Liberal party
Liberal MPs have expressed concerns over Angus Taylor’s immigration policy, with one claiming the soul of the party has been “corroded by hatred”.
Many Liberal MPs have said they now believe Pauline Hanson’s party controls the Liberal agenda.
In his budget response speech on Thursday night, Taylor confirmed the Coalition would directly tie Australia’s temporary migrant intake to the number of new homes built across the country and use housing completion figures as a hard ceiling for arrivals from overseas.
It comes after Taylor has recently escalated his rhetoric on immigration, labeling some countries as “bad”, as the party seeks to stem the flow of votes to One Nation.
A Liberal MP who spoke to Guardian Australia on condition of anonymity said some in the party were concerned that the language on immigration was a “dog whistle” and fueled by threats from Hanson’s small right-wing party.
“One Nation now controls the Liberal agenda. Signing your policy response to the budget that attacks immigrants should be seen as a white flag of capitulation to the One Nation attack,” the MP said.
“The soul of the Liberal party is now eroded by hatred. Hate is encouraged and fueled by panicked One Nation wannabes in the National Party.”
The senior Liberal said that if the Liberal party was forgotten “the only joy would be if the National party died before us”.
Another Liberal MP welcomed Thursday’s economic announcements, including the indexing of income tax brackets, but said the party needed to shift its focus away from immigration.
“We will never leave One Nation behind on immigration,” the Liberal said.
Former Liberal MP Jenny Ware, who lost her seat in the 2022 election, said she supported discussion of curbing immigration and welcomed linking immigration levels to infrastructure and housing construction.
But he also warned Taylor not to chase Hanson.
“The danger is that in their rush to defeat One Nation and defeat One Nation, they fall into the trap of One Nation discourse and thinking at the level of one nation,” he said.
“We need to have this conversation about immigrants, infrastructure and housing. The danger in a lot of the rhetoric I hear, both implied and direct, is that we then start targeting specific groups.”
Ware said immigration was a “two-way street” between immigrants embracing Australian values and the government providing adequate infrastructure and services. He warned that the One Nation threat would not only come for the Liberal party, but would also bite Labor.
Hanson praised the Liberals’ copying of his policies, telling Nine News on Thursday: “Everyone knows that I set the agenda in Australia with politics because I listen to the Australian people and if they want to take my policies, good luck mate.”
Last month Taylor announced it would block Australian permanent residents from accessing a popular scheme for first home buyers; Hanson also said that this policy was one of his policies.
Another Liberal MP said they supported economic and immigration policies and were not worried about being seen as copying One Nation, but acknowledged there was a risk the public would “misinterpret the policy and see it as a dog whistle”.
The budget response was swiftly criticized by immigrant advocacy groups, with Labor branding the policies a “dog whistle”. On Friday, home secretary Tony Burke said: “…the only person Angus Taylor seems happy with is Pauline Hanson, who is a permanent resident of his mind.”
Taylor denied on Thursday night that the announcements were aimed at stemming the flow of voters to One Nation and rejected accusations that the party risked angering key multicultural demographic groups, telling the ABC’s 730 programme: “cCitizenship is a privilege.”
