New opposition leader says if ‘someone doesn’t subscribe to our core beliefs, the door must be shut’
Rounding out his speech, Taylor says the Liberals will stand for an immigration policy “that puts the interests of Australians first, and puts Australian values at the centre of our policy”. He said:
If someone doesn’t subscribe to our core beliefs, the door must be shut.
He said Liberals will stand for lower inflation, lower interest rates, and lower taxes. Stating the party will “fight Labor’s bad taxes … on our children’s future”.
We know that government must live within its means, so Australians have the means to live. Moreover, our goal is to grow the economy so that it delivers for you – and that means giving confidence Australian businesses to invest.
He singles out “net-zero ideology” and says the Coalition will “get rid of Labor’s bad carbon taxes on the family vehicle, on manufacturing” and electricity.
Under my leadership, the Liberals will nurture national confidence and love for our country. We’ll focus things the unite us – family, community, and nation. And that revitalisation starts today.
His message to the PM is that the Liberals will fight on “every bad tax, every reckless spending policy that drives up inflation and keeps interest rates higher for longer”:
The Liberal party is under new leadership, and with that leadership will come change, because our country needs change for better.
Key events
Taylor says ‘we need to put faith in Australians to invest in the future of their businesses’
Rounding out the press conference, Hume was asked whether she would seek the shadow treasury portfolio but she said she would not say until she had spoken to Taylor in the coming days.
Taylor was also asked why he thought the populist nationalist, anti-globalisation approach would not work for his party. He said:
The starting point for me on this is that we need to put faith in Australia, Australians to invest in the future of their businesses, and in doing that, they invest in their communities, and they invest in this country, and in the process, they employ people, they serve customers, they pay suppliers.
And we are all better off [for] that, but that can only come if we give the freedom and confidence to our businesses, small and large in this country. Big government is not the answer here. That’s been Anthony Albanese’s answer, and it’s failed. We see it everywhere we go.
We can do better, and I am confident that by putting faith back in the hands or putting faith in Australians, we can have a strong economy where standards of living are rising, our incomes are rising. We can pay our bills, we can pay our mortgages, and we can own homes. That’s what I want to say.
Taylor dodges question on how he will test whether people coming to Australia hate the country
Asked how he will test whether people coming to Australia hate the country, Taylor said coming to Australia is “one of the greatest gifts a human being could have ever received”:
This is the greatest country on Earth, and for someone to come here, it is an enormous gift, and I am absolutely sure that the vast majority of people who come to this country understand it, that if people want to come to this country who don’t believe in democracy, don’t believe in the rule of law and don’t believe in our basic freedoms, that is a problem, and it is unacceptable.
The truth is that some people do not want to change in order to fit with our core values. And those core values are pretty simple. They’re pretty fundamental, and they have stood the test of time for a great nation.
On the timing of the challenge around the apology anniversary breakfast, and meeting on the day of Katie Allen’s funeral, Taylor said no one wanted the Liberal party in its current position:
The reality is, there’s always a lot going on, some very important things going on every day in this place and around the country, but the decision was made by my colleagues, and it was clear that it was time for a reset. I’m humbled that that resulted in me becoming a leader. I’m sure I know Jane feels the same way about becoming a deputy leader, and we respect those important events that have been happening over recent days.
Taylor says he has ‘seen what good immigration can do’ but ‘standards have been too low’
On how the Liberal party might outflank One Nation, Taylor said he always believed migration is good for the country:
I grew up in a town not far south here, which was a migrant town, and I saw what it brought to the country. We had the first great cappuccinos in this country, and it was a wonderful, wonderful thing south of here.
So I’ve seen what good immigration can do, but we don’t want that. It has, as I said earlier, it’s been too high, the numbers and the standards have been too low, and that must change.
Hume was asked about her comments regarding “Chinese spies” handing out for Labor at the last election. Hume said those comments were “out of line”:
The comments that I made two days before the election were out of line. They were … look at the breakfast TV program where I said a throwaway line regarding foreign interference, or reported foreign interference in the Labor party during an election, they have been taken massively out of context.
Labor did a great job recognising that against us, and I have, in fact, apologised to those that were offended by that they were ill-considered remarks.
Of course, we are going to build relations with everything, because let’s face it, the Liberal party’s for all Australians, not a sectional interest like the other parties.
We’re not a party of reactionary responses, the way that One Nation is. We’re a party that responds, listens and responds, but doesn’t react.
Taylor laughs off Well Done Angus meme
Taylor is asked about the infamous “well done Angus” meme that has resurfaced this week around his leadership challenge.
Taylor said:
Look, I have passed mugs around the press gallery with that on it. People want to congratulate me, as they seem to like doing.
Asked whether the Liberal party was at risk of becoming “One Nation-lite” Taylor said he wasn’t seeking that.
He said:
Well, you know we are not seeking to be One Nation-lite, absolutely not, but we respect the fact that those voters who might be thinking about one nation have reasons for wanting to do so, and we have to restore their confidence in us.
We do need to focus on protecting Australia’s way of life, but we also need to focus on what we know works in an economy, which is, if you put faith in Australians to invest in the future of our country, they will do it, and they will do it.
Taylor said releasing the election review was a matter for the party. On the Farrer by-election, he said it “will be tough” and there is a need to restore confidence in the party.
Asked whether this would take the party right, Taylor and Hume tried not to get labelled on left, right or centre. Hume said:
We’re going to take the Liberal party forward, not left, not right.
Taylor says he will not announce shadow ministry positions today
On whether Ted O’Brien would remain shadow treasurer, Taylor said he would not announce shadow ministry positions today.
But I will say that Ted is that is a marvellous contributor to our team.
Hume was also asked about the end of working-from-home policy at the last election. She said it was also acknowledged that opposing the policy was a mistake at the time, and it was a position the party abandoned before the election.
On whether he has a message for One Nation, Taylor said he speaks to people who have or may be thinking of shifting their vote to One Nation:
We understand and you’re disappointed with us, we understand that we need to do better to restore your confidence in us. We are going to do everything in our power to make sure that you see those core liberal values, those core liberal priorities, back front and centre in what we talk about every day, and that includes restoring Australian standard of living and protecting their way of life, because that’s what I think Australians want to see.
Taylor repeats ‘Australians first’ line as he says immigration policy will be for ‘lower numbers and higher standards’
Asked about immigration policy, Taylor said the immigration numbers are “too high and standards have been too low”:
And our policy will be for lower numbers and for higher standards. But, crucially – and is policy will also be about putting Australians first.
Asked whether Australians are less free – as he has said before – he talked about new regulations on businesses.
Taylor admits he made a “mistake” as shadow treasurer at the last election in not supporting personal income tax cuts.
Well, can I say, I think what we’ve learned, I said this earlier, is that we need to be the party of lower taxes, including lower personal income taxes. I think that was a mistake. I made that point some time back.
Asked whether Taylor had fallen into the “Malcolm Turnbull” trap by focusing on polling – which ultimately worked against him – Taylor said he had “great respect for the pollsters” but speaking to Australians in his electorate or around the country, there was a need for a reset.
On whether toppling the Liberal party’s first female leader will cost votes with women, Taylor said his focus is on bringing back people who didn’t vote for the Liberals last time – male or female.
We have lost voters across the board, all age groups. It’s up to us and my job, and the team’s job, to roll up the sleeves and get hard on delivering to and holding this rotten Labor government to account.
Taylor says first priority ‘restoring Australian’s standard of living’
We have now moved to questions. Taylor is asked what his number one priority is, and whether he white-anted Sussan Ley’s leadership. Taylor said his first priority is restoring Australia’s standard of living, which he said “has collapsed under a rotten Labor government”
They do not know how to manage this economy, [the] result is Australians are getting poorer, their standard of living [is] going backwards – not just in absolute terms, but relative to peer countries around the world. And this has been an economic disaster [for] Australians.
The second is “protecting our way of life”.
On Ley, he said he had supported Ley’s leadership.
New deputy leader Hume says Liberal party will be ‘party for all Australians’
Turning to the deputy leader, Jane Hume, she says it will be her mission to ensure a bright future for the Liberal party.
The Liberal party is a party of hope, and it is party of aspiration. But most importantly, it is a party for all Australians. Together with Angus as our leader, we will be talking about that every day and taking that message across the country.
Hume says every family will know a young person who has lost hope, and says Labor has “failed Australians”:
Under Angus Taylor, Australians will see a Liberal party that focuses on them – a party that listens and responds to the issues that matter. And I know this because I know Angus. He is smart, he dedicated, and he … never gives up.
The full quote from Angus Taylor
Just circling back earlier, here is the full quote from Taylor on immigration:
We’ll stand for an immigration policy that puts the interests of Australians first and puts Australian values at the centre of that policy. If someone doesn’t subscribe to our core beliefs, the door must be shut. If someone was to import the hatred and violence of another place to Australia, the door must be shut.
New opposition leader says if ‘someone doesn’t subscribe to our core beliefs, the door must be shut’
Rounding out his speech, Taylor says the Liberals will stand for an immigration policy “that puts the interests of Australians first, and puts Australian values at the centre of our policy”. He said:
If someone doesn’t subscribe to our core beliefs, the door must be shut.
He said Liberals will stand for lower inflation, lower interest rates, and lower taxes. Stating the party will “fight Labor’s bad taxes … on our children’s future”.
We know that government must live within its means, so Australians have the means to live. Moreover, our goal is to grow the economy so that it delivers for you – and that means giving confidence Australian businesses to invest.
He singles out “net-zero ideology” and says the Coalition will “get rid of Labor’s bad carbon taxes on the family vehicle, on manufacturing” and electricity.
Under my leadership, the Liberals will nurture national confidence and love for our country. We’ll focus things the unite us – family, community, and nation. And that revitalisation starts today.
His message to the PM is that the Liberals will fight on “every bad tax, every reckless spending policy that drives up inflation and keeps interest rates higher for longer”:
The Liberal party is under new leadership, and with that leadership will come change, because our country needs change for better.
Taylor signals Liberal party will focus on immigration and claims Labor has ‘failed to protect our way of life’
Taylor firstly acknowledged the error in not backing personal income tax cuts at the last election. He said the Liberal party is running out of time and he knows that “supporters are angry”.
We’re in this position because we didn’t stay true to our core values – because we stopped listening to Australians, because we were attracted to the politics of convenience rather than focusing on the politics of conviction. That ends today.
He said the Liberal party will change and signals the party will focus on immigration. He said:
Our borders have been open to people who hate our way of life.
We’ve had the worst terrorist attack on our soil in our history. Our soil, by Islamist extremists. And as Australians, we’re less free. [It] shouldn’t be this way. Labor has undermined our standard of living, and has failed to protect our [way of] life.
He said his first priority for the party is to “restore our standard of living and protect our way of life. Government isn’t the solution to Australia’s problems, Australians are the solution to Australia’s problems.”
He says Australia should “unapologetically defend Australian values”.
Angus Taylor press conference begins
The new Liberal leader, Angus Taylor, begins his press conference expressing his honour at being elected leader by his party.
He said:
Good afternoon, all. It [is the] greatest honour of my life to be elected as the leader of the Liberal party. Today, I am [thankful to my] great parents, who taught me and my three brothers from a very early that two of the most important attributes in life were courage and service. and that’s why I’m absolutely determined to fight for our nation. I thank [you for] this opportunity to take up the fight.
Taylor congratulated his deputy, Jane Hume, who is standing beside him, and acknowledged the former leader Sussan Ley. He said:
She took on an incredibly difficult task after a humbling election defeat back in May last year. Her work ethic has been absolutely relentless, and her commitment to the Liberal party and this has extended over a long period of time as governments and, of course, as opposition leader over the last eight months. I thank her for her gracious remarks as well. She is a great person, a great Liberal.
