Opposition leader Angus Taylor says reining in immigration will increase housing supply

Opposition leader Angus Taylor has used a WA visit to shine a light on the nation’s housing crisis, saying lower immigration numbers will mean “more houses available for Australians”.

On the back of an immigration policy which includes a proposal to exclude all people except Australian citizens from eligibility for the Federal government’s 5 per cent deposit scheme for first home buyers, Mr Taylor is also arguing that immigration numbers are too high.

“Reaching a sensible number (of immigration numbers), a lower number, will of course help the issue (of housing supply),” said during a visit to Viveash, near Midland, on Wednesday.

“This is not a controversial thing to say, that less demand will mean there will be more houses available for Australians.”

Former Prime Minister Paul Keating has attacked the Opposition’s immigration policy, saying it was “racist”.

But Mr Taylor believes Australians will back the policy.

“They (Albanese Government) have got their immigration settings wrong,” Mr Taylor said.

“The standards are too low, the numbers are too high.

“And on the housing side, they’ve completely missed their own targets (of housing construction).

“They’re not even going to get close to their 1.2 million target.

“It’s too hard to build a home in this country, it needs to be easier.”

Asked by The West Australian whether lowering immigration numbers would also cost the nation tradies and apprentices, Mr Taylor said: “We need to be bringing in the people that we need as a country.

“And that should be a focus for this government.

“The government has lost control of its immigration policy.

“We need to put Australian values at the centre of our immigration policy, the skills we need and the numbers we can cope with.”

Mr Taylor spent three days in Perth and the South West in his first visit to WA as federal Liberal and Opposition leader.

The Liberals hold just four of 16 Federal seats here in the west, after terrible election results in 2022 and 2025.

With the One Nation primary vote rising in WA, there is speculation that the Liberals might entertain a preference deal at the next federal poll, scheduled for 2028.

Mr Taylor would not be drawn on a preference deal with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.

“It (federal Election) is a fair way off,” he said.

“We’re not doing preference deals today.”