Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, as a great multicultural society, we all support a well-planned migration program. However, given that we are in the middle of a housing and rental crisis, with worsening congestion and growing cost-of-living challenges, why is the Prime Minister adding another 1.5 million people from overseas over the next five years, including an extra 400,000 this year alone, and why was this hidden from the budget speech? Won't the Prime Minister's migration policy just make life harder for the growing number of working poor Australians?

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Minister for Home Affairs will cease interjecting. Members on my right will be warned if they continue to interject during a question.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

(—) (): They've had a further 24 hours to consider the magnificent budget brought down by the Treasurer and they've come up with the same first question as yesterday, when they asked just one question of me and the shadow Treasurer asked just one question of the Treasurer. Remarkable! I note the shadow Treasurer can't even get an MPI in budget week. It's just absolutely extraordinary.

I am asked about migration. Yesterday, I informed the House—unchallenged—that the numbers were going to be higher under the coalition. The numbers were going to be higher under them. That's just a fact. I'm going to quote my friend the Leader of the National Party again here. He had some advice for the Liberal Party leader about immigration and where policy was. He said this:

We'll be constructive with this government in saying that we welcome the changes that they're bringing forward, we believe permanent migration is important …

He went on to say this:

We've got to acknowledge some of the challenges that we left behind, like the fact that there were nearly a million unprocessed visas is a failure …

You've got to put your hand up. … you've got to be honest with people.

He's going to be honest!

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Prime Minister will pause—

Honourable members interjecting —

Order! There is far too much noise. I will hear from the Leader of the Nationals.

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A point of order on relevance, Mr Speaker: the comment was about 1½ million new immigrants—there was no support of that whatsoever.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The final part of the question was about the government's migration policy making life harder. The Prime Minister is answering a broad question. At the end of the question, that was added to it. I give the call to the Prime Minister.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You don't have to take instructions from the Liberal Party. Stand up for yourself. Back yourself in. Have a bit of confidence!

He said this:

We didn't get it right in the fact that that backlog was there and I congratulate … Andrew Giles for the work he has done on that in a pragmatic way in making sure we can move forward.

But I don't have to go to the Leader of the National Party; I can go to the Leader of the Liberal Party, because this is what he said when we made an announcement in relation to the migration program. He said: 'It's too little, too late.' He wanted more, and sooner! He said this decision, to lift the migration cap, 'should have been made 100 days ago when the government was elected'. He said, 'We do need an increase in the migration numbers,' and, 'These are all grand announcements. I want to see the rubber hit the road,' and, 'It's clear the migration number needs to be higher.' That's what he had to say.

The shadow minister at the time, indeed, said this, when asked about an increase in migration—sitting now on the backbench; one of the three people that this leader has lost: three shadow ministers since the last time parliament sat— (Time expired)

Honourable members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Order! The minister for infrastructure and members on my left and right will cease interjecting. I want to hear from the member for Robertson.