Conservatives zero in on migration after climate coup at Liberal party room meeting

Fresh from winning the fight to water down the Liberals’ climate commitments, the party’s right wing plans to wield its influence in an equally bitter battle over immigration policy.

The Liberals and Nationals are preparing for a meeting on Sunday to rubber-stamp a joint plan to abandon Australia’s net-zero-by-2050 target, a move moderates warn will hurt the party’s popularity in inner-city areas.

The policy shift is a major victory for the right faction, which has been strengthened by two consecutive elections where moderate MPs have been wiped out, and further emboldened by Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s capitulation on net zero.

One conservative suggested the next debate over immigration would be a “rinse and repeat” of the climate fight and that there were no immediate plans to challenge Ms Ley as leader because the conservatives had won their policy demands.

Despondent moderate Liberals fear the Nationals will front-run the coalition’s migration policy, mirroring how the climate negotiations unfolded.

But Nationals sources denied those claims, insisting they would pursue their goals through the official party room process.

The immigration debate is more nuanced in the Nationals’ party room because its regional base relies on migrants to fill crucial roles such as farm labourers.

One option being discussed by MPs would tie Australia’s migration rate to the number of available homes as a way to ensure the intake of new arrivals does not make it harder to find somewhere to live.

Ms Ley conceded immigration would be the next big policy issue for the Liberals to thrash out and said the party would do so in a respectful manner.

“The problems we’re facing are not the fault of any migrant or migrant community. They are failings of infrastructure,” she said.

Pollster and former Liberal staffer Tony Barry warned migration posed a political risk to both Labor and the coalition as it had the potential to mobilise soft voters.

“Both sides will need to communicate their position with precision,” he told AAP.

“Often in politics, it’s not just what you say, but it’s also how you say it.

“If the coalition are framed by Labor as being insular and anti-migrants, it will be a massive problem.”

Opposition immigration spokesman Paul Scarr is a more moderate Liberal voice on the issue and has strong ties to multicultural communities.

He’s wary of not pushing migrants further away from the party after a slew of disparaging comments against them by colleagues.

WA-based Liberal leadership aspirant Andrew Hastie resigned from his post as opposition home affairs spokesman in March because of a disagreement over immigration policy.

He’s been outspoken on the issue, calling for a reduced migrant intake and controversially suggesting Australians felt like “strangers in our own home”.

Ms Ley sacked fellow former frontbencher Jacinta Nampijinpa Price from her veterans affairs portfolio after the Northern Territory senator refused to apologise for suggesting Labor prioritised Indian migrants to win votes.