Angus Taylor sharply criticizes the Albanian government on immigration

Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor says it is becoming “increasingly difficult” for young Australians to buy a home. “If Australians can get home and realize the great Australian dream of home ownership, then we need to have a situation where the housing supply is balanced by immigration and right now I don’t have that,” Taylor told Sky News Australia. “We are closing in on one million new Australians since Labor came to power. “This far exceeds the capacity of our housing stock and, as a result, it is increasingly difficult for young Australians to buy a home or even rent a home.”

In a heated interview with Sky News Australia’s Sunday Agenda, Taylor criticized Labor for its “inability” to strike the right balance between immigration, education, housing and the economy.

“It’s about finding the right balance, and we’ve lost that balance. Labor has completely lost control,” he said.

Taylor criticized Treasurer Jim Chalmers for what he sees as an overreliance on immigration to stimulate the economy.

“The only way Jim Chalmers can help the economy grow is through immigration. This is the wrong approach. He gets everything wrong, he’s always wrong. He lost the plot here.

“Disposable incomes have plummeted under this treasurer and government,” Taylor said.

“If (Mr. Chalmers) thinks the answer to this question is to simply raise immigration rates… Seriously, this guy doesn’t understand basic economics.”

While Labor has announced plans to limit migration to around 250,000 arrivals, the opposition has said deeper cuts are needed and plans to reduce the number to 160,000.

The shadow treasurer said Australia had welcomed almost a million new people since Labor came to power, including more than 500,000 in one year.

“This government has lost control of its immigration policy. We saw extraordinary numbers coming in. These are numbers that our housing supply cannot cope with.”

“The bottom line is that if Australians are going to be able to get home and realize the great Australian dream of home ownership, then we need to have… a housing supply that is balanced with immigration.”

“That’s absolutely crucial, and we don’t have that right now.”

The opposition said it would consider restricting some visas to balance economic factors and migration.

“Different immigrants have different impacts on the budget,” Taylor said.

“When a skilled immigrant arrives in Australia at the age of 30 and intends to work for the next 35 years, they are making a truly positive contribution to the budget.”

“But there are others whose contribution to the budget is not as positive,” Taylor said.

He denied that this would mean cuts to visas for family reunification, instead pointing to a reduction in the number of refugee and humanitarian visas.

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Another area that the opposition claims will limit migration is international visas.

“We will work with universities to set a quota for international students. This is because we have seen a large increase in the number of international students.”

The shadow treasurer added that the coalition government would introduce a student visa fee “appropriate to the circumstances” and allow international students to work overtime.

Student visa holders can currently work a maximum of 48 hours per fortnight.

“What has caused the skills crisis more than anything else in this country is the absolute decline in work productivity… since Labor came to power,” Taylor said.