Australia news live: PM says One Nation’s migration policy would be ‘diabolical’ for economy; Taylor pledges ‘one of the biggest immigration cuts in history’
The federal opposition leader, Angus Taylor, has vowed to deliver one of the biggest immigration cuts in Australia history and called Labor “socialist in all but name” in a bid to rally the party faithful, six months out from the New South Wales election.
In a wide-ranging address to the NSW Liberal party state council in Sydney on Saturday, Taylor admitted the previous coalition government had its shortcomings, but said Labor was “utterly failing the nation”.
He said:
For the past four years, we’ve had a government in Canberra which is socialist in all but name.
Taylor said it was “divisive” for Labor politicians to “stand in front of three different flags instead of our one national flag”, referring to press conferences where leaders would deliver speeches with the Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander flags alongside the national flag behind them.
After Labor unveiled its new immigration plan, which includes transforming a former quarantine facility into a new detention centre, and preventing international students from bringing their family members to Australia, Taylor offered to go further.
I will deliver one of the biggest cuts to immigration in Australian history.
The opposition leader also promised to protect Australia’s national flag and Australia Day, and change laws regarding gender.
We will not allow the ideologues and activists to deny the truth … Under a Coalition government I lead, we will end this lunacy.
The Coalition will be hoping to win back voters from One Nation at the NSW state election in March.
Key events
‘Vale, our brilliant friend’: Victorian Greens MP Tim Read dies
Angus Taylor vows ‘one of the biggest cuts to immigration in Australian history’
Opposition announces ‘fuel price shield’ for when crude oil exceeds US$100
The federal opposition says a “fuel price shield” policy under which the excise would be halved when the two-week average price of oil exceeds US$100 a barrel would save drivers 27 cents a litre.
Under the policy announced today, a two-week average closing price on a barrel of Brent crude of more than $100 would trigger the federal fuel excise being automatically halved from the following Monday. It would also see the removal of a 32-cent-a-litre heavy vehicle road user charge.
The price shield would lapse within three months or when the eight-week average crude price fell below US$100, unless the government decided to extend it.
In a statement today, Angus Taylor said:
When global events send oil prices through the roof, Australians should know there is a clear automatic safeguard in place to provide temporary and targeted relief.
The fuel price shield would provide certainty. When a serious oil shock hits, the tax comes down automatically. When oil prices return to more normal levels, the ordinary rate is restored.
The opposition has estimated this would save $15 on a typical tank of fuel, with the price shield costing the federal government around $950 million each month. It says its analysis shows it would have been triggered twice in the past five years, during oil price shocks in early 2022 and March this year.
Victorian premier and opposition leader pay tribute to ‘thoroughly decent’ Tim Read
The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, said in a statement Tim Read was a man of principle and compassion who had dedicated his life to being “a voice for Brunswick”.
I always valued his intelligent and humane contributions to the public debate. I always respected his convictions and his determination to make life better for others.
He knew his values. He lived them.
Carroll said he had spoken to Read last week.
“We spoke about something on which we have always agreed: integrity in public life and the need for reform,” Carroll said.
“Despite his health challenges, he was positive and optimistic for a better world.”
The Victorian opposition leader, Jess Wilson, also offered her condolences:
Tim was a man of conviction and a thoroughly decent person. He brought sincerity, compassion and a strong sense of public duty to his work, earning respect across the Parliament. His commitment to integrity in public life was unwavering.
The Greens MP for Brunswick, Tim Read, has been remembered for his kindness and integrity after his death on Saturday at the age of 64.
Read was diagnosed with melanoma in November and earlier this year announced he would retire from politics at the state election.
On Saturday, Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell announced he had died surrounded by those he loved.
“Tim was a brilliant local MP, doctor and scientist – but to those who knew him, he was also the kindest, funniest and most fundamentally decent of people,” Sandell said.
He could always see the moral question at the heart of every political issue. It’s why he was so outspoken when it came to supporting the cause of the Palestinian people and why he continued to remind us all about how much coal was being burned in Victoria each day. He never lost perspective about what was truly important …
Vale our brilliant friend. We will miss you.
Sandell recalled Read’s advocacy on pill testing, tobacco licensing and a statutory ban on solitary confinement in prisons, and praised his contribution to Victoria’s anti-corruption and integrity laws.
“Victoria is a bettter and fairer place, and politics in the future will be much more accountable and transparent because of Tim,” she said.
The federal opposition leader, Angus Taylor, has vowed to deliver one of the biggest immigration cuts in Australia history and called Labor “socialist in all but name” in a bid to rally the party faithful, six months out from the New South Wales election.
In a wide-ranging address to the NSW Liberal party state council in Sydney on Saturday, Taylor admitted the previous coalition government had its shortcomings, but said Labor was “utterly failing the nation”.
He said:
For the past four years, we’ve had a government in Canberra which is socialist in all but name.
Taylor said it was “divisive” for Labor politicians to “stand in front of three different flags instead of our one national flag”, referring to press conferences where leaders would deliver speeches with the Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander flags alongside the national flag behind them.
After Labor unveiled its new immigration plan, which includes transforming a former quarantine facility into a new detention centre, and preventing international students from bringing their family members to Australia, Taylor offered to go further.
I will deliver one of the biggest cuts to immigration in Australian history.
The opposition leader also promised to protect Australia’s national flag and Australia Day, and change laws regarding gender.
We will not allow the ideologues and activists to deny the truth … Under a Coalition government I lead, we will end this lunacy.
The Coalition will be hoping to win back voters from One Nation at the NSW state election in March.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our Sunday live blog. I’m Penry Buckley to take you through the day.
The federal opposition leader, Angus Taylor, has pledged to deliver one of the biggest immigration cuts in Australia history and called Labor “socialist in all but name” in a bid to rally the party faithful, six months out from the NSW election.
And politicians from all sides of Victorian parliament have paid tribute to the Greens MP for Brunswick, Tim Read, who died on Saturday at the age of 64.
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