Federal Education Minister Jason Clare has slammed Peter Dutton over his budget reply promise to slash immigration, saying the opposition leader had yet to reveal what the “net immigration number will be” if he implements the policy.
He also took aim at the Coalition’s plan to build nuclear power stations, noting that possible locations of any new reactors had yet to be revealed.
In his third budget reply speech delivered on Thursday night, Dutton said if it won the next election, the Coalition would reduce the permanent migration program by 25 per cent, from 185,000 to 140,000 for the first two years, before rising to an intake of 160,000 in the fourth year.
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The opposition will also implement a two-year ban on foreign investors and temporary residents purchasing existing homes in Australia, Dutton said, while taking aim at Labor’s target to build 1.2 million homes by 2029, which he said was unlikely to be met.
Dutton also flagged “zero-emission nuclear power” as part of the country’s move to a cheap, clean and consistent energy supply.
![Education Minister Jason Clare joined Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley on Friday to discuss Peter Dutton’s budget reply.](jpg/8b9ea4cc3aea17766e23bd9193b015e18c8f27d1e2c3.jpg?imwidth=650&impolicy=sevennews_v2)
On Friday, Clare joined Nat Barr and deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley on Sunrise where he lashed Dutton’s plans over migration and nuclear power.
“He refused to tell us last night what the total net immigration number would be,” Clare said.
“He talks about permanent migration but wouldn’t tell us what the net migration number would be — that’s the one that matters.”
Permanent migration refers to permanent residence visas, which includes skilled and family migration, however net migration is the number of visitors who stay in the country for 12 months or more over an 18-month period.
“He didn’t promise one dollar to build a new house in Australia, he didn’t promise one dollar to help people with the cost of living, people are doing it tough,” Clare added.
Clare said Labor wanted to build more houses to fix the housing crisis, however Ley said the most important number was the level of migration currently being experienced in Australia.
“The number to focus on is the 1.67 million migrants coming in (over five years) and not enough homes,” Ley said.
“There is such a misunderstanding of the important issues for Australians — homeownership is number one.
“I don’t want to see young people give up on their dream of homeownership, what Peter Dutton was saying last night was we need to back young Australians for a home of their own,” she said.
Ley said migration would be cut back to a “sustainable level” by the Coalition.
“What we need Australians to focus on is, yes, the Coalition understands that in order to build more homes and release more homes for Australians, you actually have to reduce the migration number,” Ley said.
Clare and Ley then clashed over nuclear power, as Ley defended the proposal.
“Right now, Australians know they need cheaper power. The businesses that I visit are desperate because their power bills are so high,” Ley said.
“We’re also focused and we talked last night about how we bring power prices down now, but we’re not seeing that under Labor.”
But Clare noted the opposition leader had not named any potential locations in his budget reply speech.
“None of them want a nuclear reactor in their backyard, including Sussan in Albury, they know that this is about as unpopular as a seafood milkshake and that’s why you saw no detail from Peter Dutton last night.”
Also during the budget reply speech Dutton said the Coalition would back energy bill rebates in the budget, worth $300 for every household but warned the government was “treating the symptom, not the disease” of inflation.
The Coalition has also pushed for Australians to be allowed to withdraw up to 40 per cent of their retirement savings — to a maximum of $50,000 — to buy their first home.
Thousands of people, including pensioners, will be encouraged to get back into the workforce and the Coalition will further increase the amount older Australians and veterans can work without reducing pension payments.
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