More than a few times throughout his political career, Angus Taylor has told the story of his grandfather, William Hudson. A civil engineer, Hudson remains a “pervasive” role model for Australia’s new opposition leader.

Hudson was favourite to be appointed commissioner of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority in the late 1940s. When the federal cabinet demanded three nominations for the job leading the massive project, the minister for works presented Ben Chifley with a slip of paper which read “Hudson, Hudson, Hudson”.

Taylor recalls how his grandfather overcame significant political resistance to bring thousands of refugees from war-shattered Europe to Australia. Arriving from at least 30 countries, the engineers and labourers “changed the face” of the country, Taylor says, living in multi-ethnic camps and working as hard as they could.

But, hours after rolling Sussan Ley to take the Liberal leadership on Friday, Taylor appeared to forget the lesson of William Hudson’s legacy.

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Signalling a further rightward shift on migration, Taylor risks the wrong lesson from the Coalition’s haemorrhaging of votes to One Nation, and fuelling an already damaging debate eating away at federal politics.

Is this what we should expect from the newly reshaped Liberal party, under Taylor and his deputy, Victorian moderate Jane Hume?

In wide-ranging comments about his outlook and values, the 58-year-old conceded the party faced an existential crisis, acknowledging it had got some of “the big calls wrong” before the last election, particularly opposing Labor’s income tax cuts. He promised to champion home ownership and tax reform.

One of the reasons the Liberals hold just nine out of 88 urban seats is the limited electoral appeal of a race to the bottom on migration

In rhetoric sure to please conservative elements of the Coalition, Taylor warned Australia’s borders had been “open to people who hate our way of life”. Standards were too low and numbers too high.

Linking the immigration debate to the alleged shooters behind the Bondi beach terror attack, one of whom came to Australia on a student visa in 1998, Taylor channelled John Howard, declaring “Australians are the solution to Australia’s problems”.

He went on to draw a distinction between good immigration and bad immigration, praising the Italian migrants who brought cappuccinos to Cooma for the first time. “If someone doesn’t subscribe to our core beliefs, the door must be shut,” Taylor said, forgetting that Australia’s democracy, freedoms and rule of law are the reasons millions around the world want to live in a society like ours.

Hanson would love nothing more than for the political debate to descend into a slanging match on who should be allowed to come to Australia and who should be kept out. Shortly after Taylor and Hume finished their press conference in Canberra, the One Nation leader stood up in Brisbane, with Australian flags behind her, swiftly dismissing the change at the top of the Liberal party, declaring “different jockey, same dead horse”.

Taylor should listen to business leaders calling out for skilled workers, and remember his party’s legacy in fostering the successful multicultural society all Australians benefit from today. The economic growth Australia needs now will be driven in part by ambitious and hard-working migrants who come to build better lives for their families.

One of the reasons the Liberals hold just nine out of 88 urban seats around Australia is the limited electoral appeal of a race to the bottom on migration. The party lost key seats, and rising stars like former MP Keith Wolahan, through a ham-fisted debate under Peter Dutton. More than 51% of voters today are born overseas or have an immigrant parent and the Liberals hold just two of the 50 electorates with the highest proportion of migrant voters.

Right-wingers including Andrew Hastie and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, as well as the activist group Advance, were pushing Ley to bring on the immigration debate before Bondi, talking up the threat from so-called “mass migration”. A set of policy principles had been prepared but were never released.

Taylor should resist a similar push as he seeks to stabilise the Coalition.

Immigration expert and former bureaucrat Abul Rizvi predicts Taylor will come under pressure to copy policy moves by Canada and New Zealand to cut net overseas migration, some of which have been effective, but he warns large fluctuations in this measure usually reflect poor policy decisions. Rizvi is concerned badly needed nuance will be absent, in part because Labor also wants lower immigration levels.

Taylor’s most immediate challenge will be the byelection in Ley’s seat of Farrer, likely to fall close to the May federal budget.

Hanson was quick to announce One Nation would contest the rural New South Wales seat, setting up a potential Melbourne Cup field, likely to include the Shooters and Fishers party and other minor players.

Under Coalition rules, the Liberals and Nationals are allowed to both run candidates in any seat without an incumbent MP. More than a few people in David Littleproud’s party room will remember Ley snatched the seat from the Nationals back in 2001. Taylor said he had spoken with Littleproud after Friday’s victory, but refused to be drawn about whether a possible agreement on Farrer had been discussed.

Teal independent candidate Michelle Milthorpe, who made a strong run in the seat in 2025, has already flagged she will recontest. Warning voters had been left “wanting” by the major parties for too long, Milthrope will have the backing of cashed-up Climate 200.

Political dynamics are quickly distorted in byelection races, and the intense media scrutiny means the result will be seen as an early referendum on Taylor’s decision to roll Ley. Hanson’s presence will ensure immigration is a topline issue, likely without much basis in fact.

Angus Taylor says the rot really set in for the Liberals because the party became too “attracted to the politics of convenience”. He should look to his own role models for a better path forward.

Tom McIlroy is Guardian Australia’s political editor

Tom McIlroy is Guardian Australia’s political editor

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