Today host Sarah Abo clashes with Liberal deputy Jane Hume on Coalition migrant plan | UNW

Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume has clashed with Today host Sarah Abo in a tense interview over the Coalition’s new migration policy.

The policy suggests Australia should discriminate against migrants fleeing autocracies because they are less likely to share “Australian values”.

It was announced earlier this month by Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, who doubled down on the policy during an interview on the ABC on Sunday.

“Some of the great Australians have come from countries that were bad countries at the time,” he told Insiders on Sunday.

“But there is a higher risk that some bad people come from those bad countries too.”

He insisted screening should be not be “based on country of origin, not based on religion, not based on race” but on values.

On Monday, Senator Hume was asked whether the Coalition would create a list of banned countries under its new policy.

She said the proposal was about raising the “standards of migrants” who arrived in Australia.

“Australia is a great migrant nation … but we’ve had 1.4 million new people come to this country just in the last four years alone, under the Albanese government,” she said.

“That’s put pressure on our housing, on our infrastructure, on our health care.”

Abo later pressed Senator Hume on Mr Taylor’s “bad countries” claim, asking her to give an example of such. “Well, I think Iran is a very good example,” Senator Hume responded.

“So everyone from Iran is a bad person?” Abo interjected.

“No, of course not,” Senator Hume said.

The Today host then returned to the question of a banned countries list.

“Hang on … it’s not the policy. Obviously, you haven’t read the policy,” Senator Hume said.

“The policy is to identify those countries from which people may come that would seek to do us harm, that would undermine our rule of law and our democracy, that don’t value equality, that would like to seek changes to the Australian way of life rather than embracing (it).”

“Isn’t that what’s already happening” Abo interjected.

“There are dozens, hang on. There are dozens, hundreds of people that have come to our country from places that would could be considered dangerous countries now, that have done great things here,” Senator Hume said.

“We do need to make sure that those that come here, that those that come here want to embrace that way of life, not seek to do us harm.”