Australian news and politics live: Coalition to restrict welfare payments for non-citizens in Budget reply

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor says his new hardline migration policy would cut access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme for non-citizens.

Mr Taylor is expected to make the plan front and centre to his Budget reply speech this evening, which includes a migration cap tied to housing construction.

Speaking in Parliament House on Thursday morning, Mr Taylor said a migrant would have to become a citizen to access NDIS and other welfare payments.

“The NDIS would be restricted to Australian citizens. It’d be grandfathered for those who’ve already been, who’ve already been on,” Mr Taylor said.

When asked, “But if that person can’t work, what do they do?” Mr Taylor responded: “Well, look, at the end of the day, they can become a citizen”.

“The simple principle is this; if you commit to this country, we’ll commit to you, and that’s how it should be.”

US President Donald Trump is heading into a series of meetings with China’s Xi Jinping in Beijing, aiming to secure economic wins, maintain a fragile trade truce and navigate thorny issues such as the Iran war and arms sales to Taiwan.

With his approval ratings badly dented by his war in Iran, Mr Trump’s hotly anticipated trip to China - the first by a US president to America’s main strategic rival since his last visit there in 2017 - has taken on added significance.

Joining him on the trip is a group of chief executives, including Elon Musk and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, a late addition who boarded Air Force One during a refuelling stop in Alaska en route to the Chinese capital at Mr Trump’s request.

Many of those executives, including Mr Huang and Mr Musk, are seeking to resolve issues with China, and Mr Trump has said he will urge Mr Xi to “open up” China to US business.

But the power dynamic has shifted since Mr Trump’s last visit in 2017, when China went out of its way to lavish Mr Trump and buy billions in US goods, said Ali Wyne, senior advisor for US-China relations at International Crisis Group.

The Coalition under Opposition Leader Angus Taylor are set to deliver a Budget response to “restore common sense” in Australia, cracking down on migration and migrant welfare.

“A Coalition Government will pledge to restore common sense to housing and migration, build more homes, bring down building costs and scrap Labor’s failed housing bureaucracies,” a statement from Mr Taylor’s office said ahead of the speech.

“The Coalition’s plan will put one simple principle at the heart of housing and migration policy:

“Australia should only bring in as many people as it can house.

“Under the pledge, net overseas migration will be capped each year at the number of new homes completed in Australia.

“The pledge will be backed by a housing supply package to get more homes built, faster and cheaper.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was forced to defend Labor’s decision to pursue changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax despite earlier election commitments, arguing governments must respond when policies are no longer working.

Speaking on ABC Radio, Mr Albanese pointed to Labor’s previous decision to halve the fuel excise as an example of the Government changing course due to changing circumstances.

“No, we certainly don’t do these things lightly,” he said.

“But we’re also not going to have a circumstance where we know that something simply isn’t working, increasingly.” Mr Albanese also said Labor had initially resisted calls to cut the fuel excise during the election campaign before later introducing the measure.

“Circumstances changed. We changed our view. We halved the fuel excise.”

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil was forced to defend negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions, rejecting claims the reforms would punish younger Australians looking to invest in property.

Speaking on ABC radio, Ms O’Neil said the Government was still supportive of property investment but wanted tax concessions to encourage the construction of new homes to help address the housing shortage.

“We’re not saying that no one should be a property investor,” she said.

“If you want to get ahead through investing in property, good on you. All we’re saying is if you’re going to get access to those generous tax concessions, we want you to help us with our national supply challenge by doing it on a new home.”

Opposition finance spokeswoman Claire Chandler has defended the Coalition’s proposal to restrict welfare payments to citizens, arguing the policy is about “principle” rather than budget savings ahead of Angus Taylor’s Budget reply speech on Thursday night.

“This isn’t about the savings … and this will all be costed in the usual way, but what it is about here is the principle – that if you want to come to our country and access our welfare system go right ahead but we would love you to be an Australian citizen in order for you to do that,” Senator Chandler told Sky News.

Asked whether the policy was aimed at countering Labor or responding to pressure from Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, Senator Chandler said, “I don’t think this is done with anything other than the benefit of our country in mind.”

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor will propose limiting welfare payments to non-Australian citizens as part of the Coalition’s economic and migration reset, arguing the change would save billions of dollars and prioritise support for Australians.

Ahead of tonight’s Budget reply speech, Mr Taylor said permanent residents should no longer be eligible for payments including JobSeeker and the NDIS.

“If you commit to this country we’ll commit to you and that’s how it should be,” he said.

“That’s the Australia I grew up in and it’s the Australia I want to see again.” Mr Taylor said the Coalition would continue to provide permanent migrants with “full access to health” and promised the Opposition would put “Australians first” in policies leading into the next election.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor will use his first Budget reply speech on Thursday night to launch an aggressive Coalition pushback against Labor’s tax agenda, unveiling policies focused on housing affordability, migration and cost-of-living pressures.

In a sign the Coalition is sharpening its economic attack lines after last year’s election defeat, Mr Taylor confirmed the Opposition would fight Labor’s planned changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions, arguing the measures would hurt Australians trying to “get ahead”.

“It’s an assault on aspiration,” Mr Taylor said during an interview on Sunrise on Thursday morning.

Mr Taylor said the Coalition would continue opposing the proposed tax changes through Parliament and would seek to repeal them if elected to government.

Thursday night’s Budget reply is also expected to include a stronger focus on migration and housing supply, with the Coalition proposing to tie net overseas migration levels to the number of homes available.

“Young Australians can’t buy a home because the level of migration is too high,” Mr Taylor said.

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Opposition Leader Angus Taylor will use his first Budget reply speech on Thursday night to unveil a sweeping Coalition fightback centred on tax relief, housing affordability and slashing migration, as the Liberals attempt to claw back support lost to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.

The Coalition is expected to pitch measures targeting bracket creep, tying migration levels to housing completions and cutting building costs as Mr Taylor argues Labor’s Budget punishes aspiration and worsens the cost-of-living crisis.

The Opposition Leader is also set to promise a $5bn Housing Infrastructure Fund aimed at unlocking up to 400,000 homes, while accusing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers of overseeing higher taxes, lower living standards and fewer homes. Senior Coalition figures say Mr Taylor plans to “swing for the fences” as the party seeks to reset after last year’s election defeat.