AI-generated summary
Josh Frydenberg lost his Kooyong seat in the 2022 federal election and has since released excerpts of his memoir. The Coalition has released a migration policy aiming to slash temporary migration by 650,000 places over four years while adding 100,000 skilled migrants to offset lost tax revenue.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor says he would welcome the return of former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg to politics, as he continues to defend the Coalition's newly released migration policy.
On Saturday, Mr Frydenberg released excerpts of his upcoming memoir A Grateful Son, published in The Australian, which included details of his election defeat four years ago.
The former Kooyong MP, who was a leadership frontrunner, fuelled speculation he may contest a seat in the next election as he outlined his vision for Australia.
He urged the Liberal Party to "reclaim" the centre of politics, arguing there was a lack of political courage in Canberra.
Mr Frydenberg proposed several policy changes across energy and AI and a pitch to leverage a portion of state GST revenue based on how many homes were built.
When asked whether he would welcome or fear his former colleague's return, Mr Taylor said he needed "every good leader" heading into the next federal election.
"People will play different roles … whether it's just liking Facebook and Instagram posts all the way through to being a candidate," he told Insiders on Sunday.
"But we've all got to mobilise, and I welcome Josh playing whatever role he's able to play."
Mr Taylor immediately added that the Coalition would not adopt Mr Frydenberg's suggestion of raising the GST.
"We will not be raising the GST in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. That we won't do," he said.
"We'll put Australia and Australians first, but we won't be raising taxes.
"I'm a fiscal conservative. I believe in lower taxes, and that's why we'll be giving the tax-back guarantee, lower income taxes for Australians without raising the GST."
Taylor defends budget neutrality of Coalition's migration cuts
Despite economic concerns raised by the business, aged care, education and construction sectors about the Coalition's migration policy, the opposition leader maintained it would be "budget neutral".
Mr Taylor said the policy had not been officially costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office, due to "constraints".
"In terms of analysis, there are limitations on what the parliamentary office can do because of its legislation. It cannot model directly Labor's policies so we had to give it assumptions to work with," he said.
"That is a constraint, but as we approach the election, we won't have that constraint."
The policy proposes slashing temporary migration by 650,000 places over four years and offsetting the lost tax revenue with 100,000 additional skilled migrants, who would be higher-paid and therefore pay more tax.
He reiterated that aged care, which heavily relies on temporary visas, would be subject to a transitional arrangement that allowed these workers to stay on existing visas for a longer period of time.
"If you cut numbers and raise standards, you can maintain budget neutrality. And you can strengthen the economy because the average income, the average productivity of the person coming into this country rises," he said.
"What's happening under Labor is they are driving economic growth through population growth alone."
Australia's net overseas migration, or NOM, fell to 292,100 people in the year to March, with Labor pursuing a target of 245,000 for this financial year and 225,000 the year after.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Josh Frydenberg will contest a seat in the next federal election
Possible · Within months
The Coalition will maintain its opposition to raising the GST despite internal policy suggestions
Very likely · Within months
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