Coalition MPs concede immigration pledge not fully costed by independent watchdog

Coalition MPs concede the party’s newly released immigration policy has not been costed in full by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), despite Angus Taylor defending the plan as “budget neutral”.

Taylor, and the deputy Liberal leader, Jane Hume, have said repeatedly the Coalition “worked closely” with the independent budget watchdog on its plan to reduce net overseas migration to 100,000 for two years. Announced on Tuesday, the policy would see net overseas migration rates of 130,000 in the third year and 160,000 in the fourth.

Taylor’s office said they planned to have the policy cost before the next federal election, but had internally modelled the policy and used the PBO to fully assess the budget implications. PBO officials are not allowed to discuss costings for members of parliament but can choose to clarify references in media reports if they are incorrect or misrepresent PBO work. The PBO declined to comment on Wednesday.

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry boss, Andrew McKellar, rejected the planned cuts, arguing Australia had a housing supply problem, not an immigration problem. The acting prime minister, Richard Marles, warned that the Coalition plan would hurt agriculture, aged care and even defence. Business and the university sector have also warned the cuts are arbitrary, dangerous for the economy and likely to exacerbate shortages in key sectors, including health and aged care.