Tyron Whitten (WA, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

I've watched the fabric of Australian life stretch and tear under the weight of Labor's disastrous mass immigration policies, policies the Australian people no longer stand behind. The Plebiscite (Future Migration Level) Bill 2018 represents a beacon of democracy in an era where the voices of everyday Australians are being drowned out. One Nation has been asking for this since 2018, and it remains as relevant as ever, calling for a simple question to be put to the Australian people. Should Australia adopt a policy of zero net migration for a period of five years?

How it has come to this is beyond me. Look about our cities. Rentals have a hundred people showing up, scrambling for shelter. Australians are suffering. Why not let Australians decide what they want for the future of their country? Let the young decide, as they stare down million-dollar mortgages for a dog box 30 kilometres from town. Let the families decide, as both parents have to work full time or work two jobs and are forced to put their babies into day care just to afford a family home.

This chamber has shamefully voted down this plebiscite twice already, with Labor and the coalition turning their backs on the very people they claim to represent. As Senator Hanson herself said when she first asked for a plebiscite all the way back in 2018, this bill is simply saying: give Australians a say. That's all we want. We want to listen to the people, but listening seems to be the last thing this government is willing to do. In my home state of Western Australia, I see the shattered lives left in the wake of mass immigration—the people and families living in tents or in the cars or on the streets. These people are not abstract statistics; they are Australians that have had their dreams crushed. With rental vacancies at a dismal one per cent in Western Australia, families are forced to compete fiercely for shelter against the waves of mass immigration unleashed by Labor. Rents have skyrocketed by 43.8 per cent in five years, adding thousands to annual costs for struggling families.

This is no accident. It is the direct consequence of Labor's reckless policies, flooding the market with record net overseas migration while ignoring the iron laws of supply and demand. In the 12 months to September 2025, we saw net long-term arrivals of over 468,000—the equivalent of adding the population of Hobart to the country twice. Labor have stuck their heads in the sand, fabricating narratives about how record demand isn't fuelling the housing explosion—that you need this sky-high immigration. They would have you believe that we need more skilled workers to build the houses we desperately need, despite their immigration plan being found to include only 12 per cent of genuinely skilled migrants. That 12 per cent is all skilled migrants, not just construction. The actual numbers in construction are minuscule. I have a background in construction, and I can assure you tradies are not sitting around waiting for a phone call from the Labor government. This government will spin the truth like a top. They're happy to gaslight their own citizens to avoid asking this simple question we are proposing. Productivity suffers too, as low skilled workers outpace capital investment, depriving the workers of the Australia of the investment they need to be productive, leading to the real wages of Australians falling back to 2011 levels.

Our kids are no longer doing as well as generations that came before them, but we are told time and time again by Labor how much they care and how much they are doing for young people. So why would they not pull the single most important lever to kids their future back? The reasons they pump immigration are glaringly obvious. Polling from Redbridge Group showed that immigrants overwhelmingly support Labor. Knowing that, they'll keep the taps on. They are happy to burn down the country we love and rule over the ashes. This plebiscite would cut through the political fog. It will leave no doubt over what the Australian people want to see from their elected members of parliament. The members of this chamber need to remember that they are here to carry out the will of the people. If you are sick of hearing us speak on immigration numbers, support this plebiscite. If Australians agree with your policies, support this plebiscite. When we get the answer that Australians are done with mass immigration, cease and desist your economic and cultural suicide.

This plebiscite is not just a vote; it is a reclamation of sovereignty, a chance for the people to demand accountability from the government that has long since forgotten who is in charge here. It doesn't matter what experts or economists think or say. It doesn't matter what politicians in here say. Heck, it doesn't matter what I say. It matters what the Australian public says. One Nation is committed to this fight, because when Australians speak we listen.