Australia news live: Greens accuse Coalition of reviving White Australia policy; muted welcome for Harry and Meghan at Melbourne Royal children’s hospital

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Independent MP says Taylor’s immigration comments risk fuelling ‘hateful and divisive narratives’

Independent MP Zali Steggall said opposition leader Angus Taylor’s new stance on immigration risked “fuelling hateful and divisive narratives about migration”, calling his comments “misleading and damaging”.

Steggall released a long statement, saying Taylor’s remarks unfairly targeted “communities who make an enormous contribution to Australia’s society and economy, and it distracts from the real policy challenges we need to address”. She went on:

I am particularly appalled by Taylor’s comments about Palestinian refugees. Suggesting people fleeing conflict are inherently a risk based on where they come from – especially when they have been vetted by agencies such as DFAT and ASIO – is deeply irresponsible and discriminatory.

Australia’s diverse, multi-faith, multicultural society is one of our greatest strengths. It is something all Australians should be deeply proud of. Migrants are not a burden – they are vital to Australia’s economic success and social fabric.

Steggall went on to say she believes the Coalition is attempting to distract from its “lack of real policies by dog-whistling to One Nation voters”.

Muted welcome for Harry and Meghan at Melbourne Royal children's hospital

Prince Harry and Meghan have arrived at the Royal children’s hospital – the first stop on their Australian tour – to a crowd of staff and patients gathered just inside the hospital’s front doors.

As the couple walked in almost without ceremony, a collective soft “hiiii” seemed to float up from the gathered crowd, as if they felt that speaking too loudly might scare the former royals away.

The pair stopped to greet hospital management in the foyer before making their way around the arc of people gathered to see them, paying particular attention to the children in the crowd.

From outside the building you would not know anything out of the ordinary was occurring here today – except perhaps for a handful of haphazardly parked cars on the nature strip.

Inside, staff, patients and visitors are craning to catch a glimpse of the couple from all the way up the central walkways, which overlook the foyer from multiple levels.

Taylor says 1940s immigration brought over ‘great, great Australians’

Those people loved this nation as much as any Australian I’ve ever met, because they had left war-torn Europe, they knew what they were leaving, and they knew what an incredible place they had come to and they embraced it.

They were and are … great, great Australians. That is the immigration program we’ve got to get back to.

My colleague Tom McIlroy has written previously about Taylor’s many references to Hudson throughout his political career.

NSW sticking to new road tax despite federal go-slow

The New South Wales premier has recommitted to imposing a new road tax despite pushback from electric vehicle users and the federal government.

Chris Minns once more promised to stick to his plans to bring in a road user charge by July 2027, putting a fee of 2.97c per kilometre for an EV and 2.37c for a plug-in hybrid.

The federal transport minister, Catherine King, on Sunday suggested the Albanese government may no longer be in a rush to bring in its own scheme for fear of deterring new EV purchases, adding: “if there is such a scheme, it does need to be national.”

Minns pushed back, telling reporters today:

We’ve got a different view from them ... Purchasers of electric vehicles understand someone still has to pay for the roads and we need to prepare today for all the eventualities and uptake in EV usage, a decline in excise and petrol usage and how we’re going to fund roads.

Speaking alongside him, Julie Delvecchio, chief of the EV Council, said road user charges should be deferred until EV uptake hits 30% of the market, from its current level of about 15%. Minns responded:

No, and with respect, Julie. We’ve got to be clear-eyed about this. We’re seeing a decline in excise at petrol understandably. We want to make sure that there’s enough money to find roads.

Victorian Labor taps new cabinet ministers

Victorian Labor’s new cabinet ministers have been decided by MPs.

Party whip Julianna Addison has told reporters Kororoit MP Luba Grigorovitch, Eureka MP Michaela Settle, Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke and Box Hill MP Paul Hamer were elected unopposed.

The premier will hold a press conference later this afternoon.

Greens accuse Coalition of reviving White Australia policy

The Greens accused the Coalition of pursuing a “2026 version of the White Australia” policy after Angus Taylor outlined the first planks of the opposition’s immigration policy.

David Shoebridge, the Greens immigration spokesperson, said the policies unveiled on Tuesday showed the Coalition had been “captured by extremists”.

Shoebridge pointed to Taylor’s claim that the cohort of Palestinian refugees who fled the war in Gaza presented a “clear risk to the country” and should be reassessed.

He posted on X:

The Greens know that immigration and multiculturalism makes us strong. We have experiences, talents and knowledge from across the world together here. It’s a key part of what makes us the Lucky Country.

The truth is that both Labor and the Coalition see the racism and division of One Nation and Trump and instead of fighting it, they copy it. This is hurting millions of Australians who fear their religion, their origins or their skin colour will make them a target.

Taylor says those seeking permanent residency would need to learn English

Taylor said English proficiency will become a requirement for those seeking permanent residency. He said:

The Coalition will make learning English an obligation for permanent visa holders, not an option.

Taylor claims people who migrate from liberal democracies likelier to share Australian values than those from ‘other places’

Taylor claimed those from Gaza presented a “high risk” to Australia. He said:

For too long we’ve turned a blind eye to the reality of immigration and integration.

Those who migrate from liberal democracies have a greater likelihood of subscribing to Australian values compared to those coming from other places.

Australia has a non-discriminatory immigration program … But for an immigration program to work in the national interest, it must discriminate based on values.

The opposition leader claimed Australians were “fed up” with Labor’s immigration policies.

Australia ‘changing for the worse’ due to ‘migrants of subversive intent’, Taylor claims

Angus Taylor is moving on to immigration, what he says is “an issue of deep and growing concern to Australians”.

Unfortunately, something has changed in recent times. Immigration numbers are too high. Consequently, Australians can see the country they love changing for the worse.

The Coalition was adamant earlier this morning that their policies are not Trumpian in nature. But in his earlier report, political editor Tom McIlroy noted similarities to recent US rules in some elements of the plan:

Taylor claims there are two categories of migrants: those who embrace Australia, and those who are “subversive” and want Australia “to change for them”:

Declining immigration standards have seen our door open to migrants of subversive intent.

Taylor: ‘Bigger government and a bigger Australia has not meant a better Australia’

Taylor is listing a slate of grievances with the Labor party, including the ongoing fuel shortage, what he says is a shortage in defence spending and, the topic of this speech, the rate of migration into Australia.

He said:

Under my leadership we will change for the better. We will deliver policies for the change our nation needs …

Now here’s the truth: Bigger government and a bigger Australia has not meant a better Australia.

The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, is up in Canberra to unveil the Coalition’s new, hardline immigration policies.

We’ll bring you those updates as soon as they happen.

Victoria premier at meeting where MPs will decide who to join cabinet

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has arrived at a Labor caucus meeting where MPs are set to decide who will be elevated to cabinet.

Yesterday, ministers Mary-Anne Thomas, Gayle Tierney and Danny Pearson announced they would not be recontesting the November election, joining Natalie Hutchins who resigned in December.

It leaves four vacancies to be filled, with Labor sources saying Kororoit MP Luba Grigorovitch, Eureka MP Michaela Settle and Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke will fill three. Box Hill MP Paul Hamer and Mordialloc MP Tim Richardson are both vying for the final spot, which will be determined by the socialist left faction.

s preselect local publican to challenge premier in Bendigo seat

The s have confirmed Andrew Lethlean has been chosen as the party’s candidate to challenge the premier, Jacinta Allan, in her seat of Bendigo East at the November state election.

Allan has held the seat since she was first elected in 1999. But the s are confident Lethlean, a local publican, can make the seat competitive after his strong showing in last year’s federal election in the overlapping seat of Bendigo.

At that poll, Lethlean polled 29.7% and Chester was left hanging on with a narrow 1.4% margin. It was the strongest swing away from Labor anywhere in the country, at 9.8%.

In a statement on Tuesday, Lethlean said it was a privilege to run in the state election. He said:

The Bendigo community means everything to me. It’s given me so much and I’d like to give something back. I will be fighting for every vote and if elected will fight hard every day for Bendigo.

The s’ State President, Jo Armstrong, said:

Andrew’s standing in the Bendigo community was reflected when he achieved a near 10 per cent swing in last May’s federal election.

However, at the state election, the s will also face competition from One Nation, who plan to capitalise on the anger in regional Victoria.

Chris Minns says Taylor needs to offer more than ‘wishy-washy policy’

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has challenged Angus Taylor to offer more than “wishy-washy policy” in his calls for “values-based” immigration.

The federal opposition leader will this morning propose increased vetting and stricter conditions on migrants to Australia, including to deport visa holders who fail to uphold the Australian values statement.

Minns told reporters earlier this morning immigration levels had exceeded the federal government’s targets and he believed a “values-based” approach had universal support.

On Taylor’s upcoming speech, Minns said:

The general point, that we want people to come to Australia who love Australia, is a good principle … We’re in a position where we can effectively choose who the future Australians are and of course the commonsense position would be, if you’re going to choose, you want to choose people that love the country and are going to contribute to it.

I’m going to watch his speech today but I just say that, if it’s full of noble words and grand statements, but wishy-washy policy, we’ve heard all that before …

There’d be no circumstance where we should be in a position to be accepting people into our country that don’t love the country and the prime minister has made that very, very clear, particularly over the last six months. Every prime minister’s made that case … The question is, what’s the federal opposition proposing in this policy?

Deputy RBA governor fears ‘big real income shock for Australia’

The deputy governor also noted that consumer confidence measures have “fallen very, very sharply”.

I don’t think those surveys necessarily tell you a lot about what consumption is going to do. But if they’re right, we have a big income shock coming our way.

He noted that Australia was “the highest user of diesel per capita in the world”.

So this is a big real income shock for Australia, even if national income and fiscal coffers may benefit from that net export position.

Stagflation threat from Iran war a ‘nightmare’, RBA deputy governor says

Andrew Hauser, the Reserve Bank’s deputy governor, says the “stagflationary shock” from the Iran war is a “central banker’s nightmare”.

Speaking at an event in New York this morning, Hauser said the RBA was “judging the balance” between the damage to the economy from “a big income shock” associated with soaring fuel prices, versus a sharp rise in inflation.

We’re going to have to think about that in that overall way. It is the central bankers’ nightmare: you know, the stagflationary shock, with inflation up, activity down [and] judging the balance between those two.

With financial markets earlier this morning pricing in a 64% chance of a third straight interest rate hike at the next central bank boarding meeting on 5 May, Hauser said it was “easy to see that upside inflation pressure”.

But he said it was “more important for us now to think through what that medium term impact might be”.

“It might still be on the upside, in which case we’re going to have to respond” with higher rates.

But we do also need to take account of the possibility that activity slows.

Taylor says permanent residents should be excluded from 5% home deposit scheme

Angus Taylor, the opposition leader, said the opposition will push scrapping the government’s 5% first homebuyers’ deposit scheme for permanent residents.

You can read more about that scheme itself here:

Taylor spoke to 2GB earlier, saying the program should be exclusively for Australian citizens. He said:

Seriously, this is a scheme designed for Australians to get into a home. Young Aussie citizens.

So let me give you a sneak preview of the speech I’m going to give at 11 o’clock today. I will say at that speech that we will restrict that program to Australian citizens.

One Nation’s Pauline Hanson has been pushing content lambasting apparent government promotion of the scheme overseas in recent days.