Corinne Mulholland (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Here we go again. We have the same right-wing politicians reaching for the same old political stunts. Once again, they're trying to use migrants as a political punching bag, the oldest and saddest trick in the book. It's not new, it's not original and history has shown over and over again that it is wrong. It is dead wrong. When those opposite in the coalition join forces with One Nation on their policy offerings, we know that they have nothing new to offer the Australian people. They are all out of ideas and desperately searching for relevancy. They're looking for someone to blame for their current situation, and, all too often, that someone to blame is a hardworking migrant family in this country. It is a tale as old as time, and we all know the truth.

The simple fact is that a dog whistle is just lazy politics. It's nothing more than a policy shortcut for One Nation and the coalition, who are not interested in doing the real work of governing in this country. If you cannot solve Australia's big challenges off the back of a bumper sticker, they're not interested. If you can't fix an issue by playing dress-up, they don't want it. If it takes showing up in this place day after day and doing the real policy work, they ain't interested.

We know that it takes real policy work, record investment and having all levels of government working together to solve the great challenges of our time. That is how we build the homes that Australians need after a decade of inaction under the coalition. That is how we are going to deliver ongoing cost-of-living relief. That is how we're going to build the infrastructure our communities need now and into the future. You're not going to get that on a bumper sticker. It takes hard work.

Senator Roberts knows this. He himself is a proud migrant to this country. He knows that migrants aren't the problem, and he knows the facts support this. Net overseas migration has declined by more than 40 per cent from 2022-23. Those opposite left migration teeming with rorts. We all remember the Liberal Party fundraisers during the last election. Peter Dutton was beside conversations, offering up golden tickets to wealthy investors. That's their record in migration—a record of rorts. Our government has restored integrity to the system while ensuring that there is a sustainable level that delivers the skills that we need.

New housing approvals are up by 15 per cent from this time last year. More new homes are being built right around Australia. Senator Roberts knows this, but he chooses to come into this place and move motions like this, aided and abetted by the coalition, in a race to the bottom. We have seen the coalition try and climb their way out of some pretty disastrous polling lately. We have seen them try and tear down the new Australians. That's not leadership; that is weakness.

I will come to an Essential poll that was released in the last couple of days. It asks who the best person to lead the Liberal Party in this country would be, and 14 per cent of people said opposition leader Sussan Ley.