Albanese takes aim at Hanson’s migration stance

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has launched a passionate defence of migrants and Australia’s multicultural “heart” as immigration continues to dominate federal politics.

In what appears a pointed jab at anti-immigration One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, he said anyone who looks at Australia’s past and sees a monoculture needs to go to Specsavers, while calling for Australians to protect our social cohesion rather than sow division.

“Migrants play essential roles throughout our lives, from the maternity ward to the nursing home – and at every stage in between,” he told the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia on Thursday.

“From construction sites to businesses, from classrooms to restaurants to doctors’ surgeries, migration has added to Australia’s prosperity and built our strength. 

“Migrants work hard and pay taxes. They add to the bottom line and lift our ambitions as a country by expanding our sense of what is possible.”

Immigration has developed into a major theme in Australian politics throughout Albanese’s second term, coinciding with One Nation’s surge in the polls.

Hanson has garnered support among some voters for her tough talk on immigration but generated outrage in June when she called for Australia to be a "monocultural" society.

Albanese will issue a blunt message to the Queensland senator as he defends the value of migrants for both Australia’s cultural framework and its economy.

“Australia’s migration story has been many generations in the making,” he said.

“Anyone who can look in the rear-vision mirror and see a monoculture should get themselves down to the nearest Specsavers. 

“The reality is that Australia’s heart is multicultural.

“That is the foundation on which so much of our present is built – often in a very literal sense – and on which we are building our future.”

The populist party and the Coalition have been duelling over who can cut back harder on net overseas migration, as more voters blame high immigration for the housing and cost of living crises.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor would cap the figure at 100,000 in the first and second years of a Coalition government, rising to 160,000 by year four, while One Nation would impose an unspecified “negative migration” target before settling somewhere below 130,000.

Economists have questioned whether such dramatic cuts could hurt the economy, which has relied substantially on population increases for economic growth in recent years.

Labor wants to crack down on backpackers and visa overstayers to bring the migration figure down from almost 300,000 last year to 225,000 by 2028.

As of early September, voters were backing less immigration: 40 per cent of voters said Labor’s target was too high, a third said it was about right and 11 per cent said it was too low.

The Sydney Morning Herald’s Resolve Political Monitor also showed roughly two-thirds of voters backed spending more money on forced deportations and stopping immigration from countries where there is a danger of extremism.

The latest poll, released on Monday, showed 35 per cent of voters backed One Nation to best handle immigration and refugees, 24 per cent backed Labor and 18 per cent backed the Liberal Party.

The ALP (29 per cent) maintained a narrow primary vote lead over One Nation (25 per cent) and the Coalition (23 per cent), while Albanese increased his lead as preferred prime minister to 32 per cent.