Dutton takes away the welcome mat, opens door to nuclear power
Slashing the permanent migration intake in a bid to fix the housing crisis is part of Peter Dutton’s blueprint for Australia’s future.
If elected in 2025 a coalition government would introduce a two-year ban on foreigners buying existing homes and cut the number of foreign students.
In his third budget-reply speech delivered late on Thursday, the opposition leader said Labor had made life āso much tougherā for Australians.
But Mr Dutton didnāt reveal detail on two major issues: nuclear energy and lower taxes.
He placed housing at the forefront, saying more than 100,000 homes over the next five years would be freed up through reduced migration.
The coalition would cut Australiaās permanent migration intake of 185,000 by 25 per cent for the first two years, before raising it to 150,000 and then 160,000 in the fourth year.
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The coalition will back energy bill rebates in the governmentās budget, worth $300 for every household, but warned Labor was ātreating the symptomā and not the cause of higher prices.
Mr Dutton would scrap the $13.7 billion in tax incentives for hydrogen and critical minerals, the centrepiece of Laborās Future Made in Australia plan.
āThese projects should stand up on their own without the need for taxpayerās money,ā Mr Dutton said.
The opposition leader criticised Laborās āārenewables onlyā energy policy and said going nuclear was ārightā for the nation.
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Mr Dutton said older Australians and veterans would be able to earn triple the current income rate, up to $900 a fortnight, without having their pensions reduced.
He announced an instant asset write-off scheme for small businesses would rise to $30,000.
On industrial relations, Mr Dutton said the coalition would revert to a āsimple definitionā of a casual worker.
Following a number of violent attacks, the opposition leader said there would be a restriction on the sale and possession of knives for minors and dangerous people, with tougher bail laws for family violence.
Speaking after Mr Duttonās speech, Education Minister Jason Clare described the address as ādarkā.
āIf you want to be prime minister of this country, youāve got to do more than look dour and angry and bark at the camera,ā he told reporters in Canberra.
āYouāve got to have a positive vision for the country and youāve got to have details and costed policies.ā
Mr Clare said Mr Dutton ātalked a big gameā on immigration without providing detail on how a reduction of that scale would impact the economy.
He criticised the coalition for not revealing the locations the proposed nuclear reactors would be built under the coalitionās energy plan.
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