{"id":606880,"date":"2026-04-14T19:46:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T19:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/606880\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T19:46:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T19:46:07","slug":"debased-himself-and-risking-australias-reputation-liberals-torn-up-about-taylors-trumpian-immigration-plan-australian-immigration-and-asylum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/606880\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Debased himself\u2019 and risking Australia\u2019s reputation: Liberals torn up about Taylor\u2019s Trumpian immigration plan | Australian immigration and asylum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Howard government minister Amanda Vanstone has warned Angus Taylor against turning immigration into heavy-handed law enforcement<\/a>, saying most migrants from countries run by dictators and extremists move here to escape authoritarianism.<\/p>\n

Releasing the first elements of a new hardline immigration policy on Tuesday, the opposition leader sparked criticism from refugee advocates, Pauline Hanson and even one sitting Liberal MP, who all likened the plans to policies from US president Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

Amanda Vanstone in 2019. Vanstone says \u2018people who want to get away from authoritarianism come here to escape it, not to reinstitute it\u2019. Photograph: Mark Jesser\/AAP<\/p>\n

Taylor used a speech to the Menzies Research Centre to argue migrants from liberal democracies had a greater likelihood of subscribing to Australian values, \u201ccompared to those migrating from places ruled by fundamentalists, extremists, and dictators\u201d.<\/p>\n

Vanstone, who served as immigration minister from 2003 to 2006<\/a>, told Guardian Australia using immigration systems for law enforcement risked the country\u2019s status as a successful multicultural nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, people from Liberal democracies have an understanding about our system but never forget that people who want to get away from authoritarianism come here to escape it, not to reinstitute it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n

But the Liberal party<\/a> veteran backed Taylor\u2019s plans to require permanent migrants to learn English.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be able to write a novel but for proper integration, you have to be able to get around and function. Functional English is so important,\u201d Vanstone said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I have never agreed that immigration should be regarded as a law enforcement portfolio, because we are an immigration nation. Just like the United States and Canada. It\u2019s an opportunity to shape where we want to be, not who we don\u2019t want.\u201d<\/p>\n

One current Liberal MP, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Taylor\u2019s plans for Home Affairs officers to conduct social media vetting at the Australian border was a \u201cpathetic attempt to mimic Trump\u201d.<\/p>\n

Angus Taylor invoked John Howard\u2019s language about asylum seekers from 2021, saying \u2018we will decide who deserves protection and the circumstances in which that protection is granted\u2019. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts\/AAP<\/p>\n

\u201cAngus is a leader facing the threat of One Nation from the front and [Andrew] Hastie from behind,\u201d the MP said. \u201cTherefore he has decided to debase himself with petty attacks on the most vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor invoked John Howard\u2019s language about asylum seekers from 2001, saying, \u201cwe will decide who deserves protection and the circumstances in which that protection is granted\u201d.<\/p>\n

Paul Power, the co-chief executive of the Refugee Council of Australia, said Taylor had failed to understand that recent migrants, like those who arrived in Australia in the 1950s and 60s, were often fleeing war and oppression.<\/p>\n

He warned many migrant and refugee community members had reported experiencing abuse on Australia\u2019s streets and some even fear going out in public.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe irony of Mr Taylor questioning whether migrants adhere to Australian values is that, in doing so, he is demonstrating a set of values which falls well short of the concept of giving everyone a fair go,\u201d Power said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis policy reflects a troubling willingness to single out a vulnerable group of people fleeing conflict and subject them all to discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hanson, the One Nation party leader, claimed credit for the Coalition\u2019s plan on Tuesday but told Sydney radio 2SM it would not win back voters abandoning the Liberals and Nationals.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople aren\u2019t stupid. People realise they put a lot of trust and faith into the Liberal party to deliver for them and the leadership wasn\u2019t there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The opposition\u2019s plan would limit the government\u2019s 5% first homebuyers\u2019 deposit scheme to Australian citizens, blocking permanent residents from accessing help to purchase a home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Howard government minister Amanda Vanstone has warned Angus Taylor against turning immigration into heavy-handed law enforcement, saying…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":606881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":{"0":"post-606880","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-australia","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}