Taylor delivers budget reply, pledges ‘biggest migration cut in Australian history’, $22.5b in tax cuts; Government calls proposals ‘uncontested nonsense’

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor upped the ante on his campaign against “mass migration” in his budget reply speech that sought to pitch bigger personal tax cuts than Labor and differentiate the Coalition from One Nation after its crushing loss in the Farrer byelection.

Taylor promised substantial migration cuts and claimed he would deport 75,000 people who overstay visas in another plank of his hardline immigration plan. He did not nominate a migration target, prompting taunts from Labor MPs watching the speech in parliament, and telling the ABC only that it would be below 200,000.

“This much I promise: the Coalition will deliver one of the biggest cuts to immigration in Australian history. Our immigration cut will complement our plan to lift immigration standards,” he said.

Taylor also announced that the Coalition would make Australian citizenship a condition of receiving welfare payments.

The opposition leader promised to peg the lowest two tax brackets to inflation from 2028, delivering $250 for an average taxpayer in the first year, then $1000 by year four. The plan would cost $22.5 billion over four years, the opposition said.

It’s not clear how the opposition will fund the tax cut, given Taylor confirmed he would aim to repeal Labor’s $100 billion tax hikes on investors and trust holders.