Australia needs a forward-looking, evidence-based immigration policy from the Liberal Party. They should drop the slogans, fear mongering and backward-looking thinking.

The Liberal Party should not allow its immigration policy to be dictated by fear of Pauline Hanson and One Nation.

The current political environment is somewhat reminiscent of the early years of the Howard government when Pauline Hanson’s campaign against Asian migration spooked the Coalition. However, after some initial vacillation, the Howard government – for most of its years – pursued largely sensible immigration policy in the national interest. They are remembered for some unnecessarily harsh approaches to maritime asylum seekers, but there were many positive policies in the areas of economic migration, migrant settlement and Australian citizenship. Even multicultural policy was preserved, under the banner of the then new label of Australian Multiculturalism.

Unfortunately, Angus Taylor has got off to a bad start. He clearly thinks a lurch to the right is necessary to pull back votes from One Nation.

In an opening intellectual ’tour de force’ he has committed the Liberals to “good migration” as opposed to “bad migration.” That of course sets him apart from all those political party leaders who have openly committed themselves to “bad migration” (not that I can remember any).

As well as proposing unspecified cuts to migration, he foreshadows going down the highly dubious “values” pathway. He says Australia will only want people who share our values. But what are those values? Coalition parliamentarians don’t all share the same values, judging from the constant rifts and leadership changes. Not long ago, Prime Minister Scott Morrison repeatedly assured us that we shared the same values as Americans, but is that........

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