Liberal senator Price urges shift away from mass migration at CPAC speech

Liberal Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price used the Conservative Political Action Conference in Brisbane over the weekend to cast the Albanese Government’s migration agenda as excessive, arguing that mass immigration is making life harder for Australians. In comments delivered to CPAC attendees, she framed migration as a policy choice with tangible consequences for housing, services and social cohesion, and she urged her party to recalibrate the debate toward family-centric policies.

Price asserted that Labor has brought in a record number of new arrivals in its first term, telling her audience that “there’s a big difference between controlled, planned, and sustainable migration, on the one hand. And on the other hand – uncontrolled, unplanned, and unsustainable migration.” She cited government figures she described as a sign that current policy is out of balance, arguing that the current scale of immigration contributes to higher housing costs, longer wait times for health and education services, and crowded cities. “We all recognise the contributions that so many migrants have made over many generations, migrants who have become cherished Australian citizens,” she said. “But for recently arrived migrants and permanent residents who want to join Team Australia too, the impacts of high migration levels are being felt.”

Price urged the Liberal Party to pivot the migration debate toward strengthening families, arguing that reducing migration could ease pressure on housing, reduce congestion, and improve access to public services. “Reducing mass migration means more housing, less congestion, better services, and that benefits all families,” she said. “We need to make families the focus of the migration debate. Specifically, the betterment of all families, whether you're a migrant, a resident, or a citizen, and regardless of your background.” She also tied migration policy to broader social and economic challenges, including anaemic economic growth, an ageing population, and declining workforce participation. “Too many young Australians are locked out of the property market, or can only afford homes that are ill-suited for raising a family,” Price said. “And too many couples are putting off having children until later in life, or not having them at all.”

Among her proposed solutions were promoting townhouses over high-rise developments, expanding family tax benefits, offering more flexible childcare options, and restoring civics education in schools. “Responsible and proud citizenship underpins better families – and a better nation,” she said. Price also took aim at Labor and the Greens, accusing them of undermining Australia's cultural identity. “Migration is not just about numbers. It’s about who we are. Labor and the Greens treat culture as disposable.” She warned that high migration levels impact everyone, including recent migrants, and she criticized what she described as identity politics in national debates. “They undermine and re-write history, mock tradition, and replace unity with division.”

Price invoked last year’s Voice referendum as evidence that Australians reject identity politics, saying, “They want unity, not division. They want equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome dictated by bureaucrats.” She closed with a call to defend Australia’s cultural values, insisting that the country’s “culture, and our values, are worth remembering, protecting and defending.” The core message, she said, is that Australia’s success as one of the world’s most cohesive and diverse nations remains fragile and depends on social cohesion and shared identity.

The remarks come as Price faced internal party discipline earlier this month after refusing to apologise for remarks suggesting the Albanese Government was using migration to tilt the electoral balance. She was sacked from the Liberal front bench by Opposition Leader Sussan Ley for that stance, a decision Price described as part of the political silence surrounding immigration debates within the party. In interviews following her removal, Price repeated that she did not intend to disparage migrants, but she drew attention to concerns about how migration policy might influence social and political outcomes.

In response to her CPAC comments and prior remarks, Immigration Minister Tony Burke condemned the notion of a race-based framework for migration. He said, “Australia doesn't have a race-based migration system… it's rare that anyone cheers more loudly than the Indian community. We are lucky that they have chosen us.” Burke’s comments reflected a broader governmental stance that migration policy should be rights- and merit-based, rather than structured around ethnic or racial considerations. Price, for her part, told Australian media that her remarks about the Indian community in an ABC interview were “clumsy” and that she regrets how they were delivered, insisting she never intended to be disparaging toward any migrant group.

The CPAC exchange underscored ongoing tensions within Australia’s main political camps about how to balance humanitarian and economic considerations with concerns over housing, infrastructure, and social cohesion. Price’s speech represented a vocal push from the Liberal side to recast migration as a domestic policy question centered on family stability and national identity, while acknowledging the undeniable contributions of migrants to Australian society. Whether the policy prescriptions she outlined—more compact housing, expanded family supports, and civics education—will gain traction in a broader policy setting remains to be seen as Australia continues to grapple with population dynamics, urban planning, and service delivery across its states and territories.