‘Not the Liberal way’: Rebel Liberal Senator Andrew McLachlan blasts party over migrant rhetoric

Liberal senator Andrew McLachlan has blasted his own party for blaming Australia’s economic woes on migrants, warning that the rhetoric risks alienating voters.

Angus Taylor last week announced a Coalition government would strip millions of permanent residents of welfare payments, including JobSeeker and Youth Allowance.

Speaking to ABC’s Radio National on Tuesday, Senator McLachlan said the party’s use of terms such as “mass migration” stoked unnecessary division and was not reflective of core Liberal Party values.

“I think the use of the (term) ‘mass migration’ is not acceptable. It creates anxiety and fear in the community,” he said.

“That is not the Liberal way. We are a party of the centre-right that was founded on core foundations of care for the individual and wanting them to meet their aspirations, and that includes compassion and humility.”

Senator McLachlan further criticised Mr Taylor and the wider party room for tying the intake of migrants to the nation’s housing supply pressures.

“We cannot continue to blame migrants for the problems of our economy,” he said.

“It‘s unfair to tie housing supply problems to migrants. They come here, they’re skilled, they contribute … but we do want to house them.

“We need the most talented people in the world to come here and enjoy their lives and eventually become citizens and contribute with their families.”

Shadow immigration spokesperson Jonno Duniam said on Monday Mr Taylor’s policies were not punshing permanent residents and were reflective of a“pro-migration” stance.

“This is not about punishment, but it is about trying to incentivise that pathway to Australian citizenship,” Mr Duniam told the ABC’s 7.30.

“We want to preserve, for those who eventually become Australian citizens – which I hope is all of them that want to come here – the services that we provide in this country.”

Mr Taylor delivered the Coalition’s budget reply before parliament on Thursday, including measures that would tie net overseas migration to housing completion and index the bottom two tax brackets at inflation.

If elected, the Coalition would also lock non-citizens, including permanent residents, out of the NDIS and 17 welfare payment schemes.

Mr Taylor has refused to reveal what number of new arrivals a Coalition government would accept – stating it would be tied to housing completions – but told Sky News on Sunday that it would be a 70 per cent reduction on “Labor’s peak immigration numbers” and well below 200,000.

Treasury estimates net overseas migration to be 295,000 for the 2025–26 financial year.

The Liberal Party has been accused of leaning on One Nation’s immigration policies as Pauline Hanson’s party experiences a surge in the polls. MP David Farley secured the first lower house seat in federal parliament for One Nation in an historic win in the Farrer by-election on May 9.