News and politics live updates: One Nation migration policy thrown into confusion as Barnaby Joyce steps in

The next Chinese ambassador to Australia is expected to arrive in Canberra this week to begin his diplomatic posting.

Diplomatic sources have told The Nightly veteran Chinese Foreign Ministry official Liu Jinsong is flying into the country as early as Monday.

A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Penny Wong has declined to comment on the arrival of the next Chinese ambassador as diplomatic tensions between both nations continue to play out over various issues.

Former Ambassador Xiao Qian, who served in Australia for more than four years, was farewelled last month by other members of Canberra’s diplomatic corps during an event at the Chinese embassy.

His replacement Liu Jinsong has served as the head of the foreign ministry’s department for Asian affairs and was previously posted to Thailand, Japan and the United Kingdom, although his appointment to Canberra has not been publicly confirmed.

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has been forced to clarify the party’s signature migration policy after a newly elected colleague suggested its widely promoted 130,000 net overseas migration target could actually be significantly higher.

One Nation has pledged to slash net overseas migration to 130,000, but newly elected MP David Farley sparked confusion after suggesting the figure would not include at least 100,000 skilled workers entering Australia through existing visa schemes.

That could potentially push the overall figure closer to 230,000 — roughly in line with Labor’s target of 225,000.

But appearing on Sunrise alongside Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek on Monday morning, Mr Joyce repeatedly insisted One Nation’s target remained 130,000.

“It’s 130 net. We’ve been saying that all along,” Mr Joyce said.

Asked directly whether there would be another 100,000 migrants on top of the figure, Mr Joyce was unequivocal.

“There’s not going to be an extra hundred on top of that. No.”

When host Natalie Barr asked whether Mr Farley had simply misspoken, Mr Joyce conceded: “Yeah.”

“Well, I mean that’s not unusual. Show me a political career where people haven’t made, you know, made a mistake. And I’ll show you a person who’s not telling the truth,” he said.

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