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🗞️Treasurer Chalmers Criticizes Dutton's "Unhinged" Budget Reply

🗞️Treasurer Chalmers Criticizes Dutton's "Unhinged" Budget Reply

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The opposition leader's budget reply, which suggests cutting immigration, has been characterised by Treasurer Jim Chalmers as a "unhinged and risky rant". Peter Dutton stated in his speech on Thursday night that the Coalition would limit the amount of permanent visas awarded in the next two years to 140,000 if elected. The government's cap on permanent immigration is currently 185,000, down from 190,000 the previous year. A cap of $140,000 for two years, followed by $150,000 in the third year and $160,000 in the fourth, was announced by Mr. Dutton. People with skilled, humanitarian, and family visas are among the cohort.

With parliament in recess for a week, Chalmers travelled to Port Augusta, South Australia, with environment minister Tanya Plibersek and SA state and federal colleagues to promote the government's Future Made in Australia renewable energy transition agenda. The treasurer also criticised Dutton's parliament reply speech last night.

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“The government is cutting back the permanent intake in the Budget I released on Tuesday night. We come to these decisions in a considered and methodical way, not just when we’re scratching around for something to say in a Budget reply speech on a Thursday night. And this unhinged and risky rant that we saw from Peter Dutton was long on nasty negativity and short of economic credibility and one of the reasons for that is because he has left key questions unanswered about his changes to the migration system. You know, he has not been able to say, for example, what the impacts on Australian industry will be, industries like construction, agriculture, what the impact on our economy would be,” Chalmers said.

He said , “So the Albanese government is already winding down, winding back the permanent migration program, and when it comes to net overseas migration, there will be half as many in the net overseas migration number next year than there were last year and that’s because we’re managing it in a responsible way, a considered way, and there the contrast couldn’t be clearer with the unhinged, nasty negativity we heard from Peter Dutton.”

He said the opposition leader hadn't said how he'd pay for the policies he said a future Coalition government would implement, which included building nuclear reactors at undisclosed locations across Australia and bigger tax cuts.

After saying in his budget reply speech that he'd outlaw foreign investors, Dutton was asked earlier on Friday about the number of foreign buyers of Australian real estate each year.

After suggesting a ban as a way to ease the market, the opposition leader was asked on Friday about the impact of foreign buyers on the housing market on Nine's Today programme.

Instead of sharing the number of homes sold to foreign buyers each year, he said that his proposed immigration restrictions would help ease the overall pressure on housing.

In an interview with 3AW, Mr. Peter Dutton said , “Well, we've made an announcement as well in my speech last night that in addition to these measures that we've just spoken about, that we would also put a two-year ban on foreign investors buying existing properties here in Australia. I think that's an important measure as well. The numbers aren’t great in terms of those investors now, but nonetheless, it's still going to add to the overall housing supply. I mean, Bill Shorten was sort of scoffing at that this morning saying that 5,000 houses over two years is nothing.”

He added But the reality is that if you could free 5,000 homes up for people to rent or to buy, over the next couple of years, you'd jump at it. Our argument is that through what we're proposing, you could bring 40,000 homes, free them up over the first year, and over a five-year period, about 110,000. If the Government had implemented this plan from when they came into government, over a five-year period, they would actually free up about 325,000 homes, which I think would make a big difference to many, many Australians.

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🗞️Treasurer Chalmers Criticizes Dutton's "Unhinged" Budget Reply

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