Australian shadow immigration minister denies agreeing to unreleased Liberal Gaza, Somalia migrant ban

Leaked Liberal immigration plan aimed to ban migrants from conflict-held regions across 13 countries and sharply tighten visa rules, but the party’s former shadow immigration minister says he never proposed or agreed to the measures and has “serious concerns.”

The draft was prepared under ousted Liberal leader Sussan Ley and slated for release on Feb. 16 after an earlier delay following the Bondi terror attack. It was not taken to shadow cabinet before last week’s leadership change, and new Opposition Leader Angus Taylor had not seen it, according to party sources.

The proposal would impose region-based entry bans on 37 areas where listed terrorist organizations exercise territorial control, including Gaza and parts of Afghanistan and Somalia. The regions span 13 countries:

• Afghanistan
• Algeria
• Cameroon
• Egypt
• Lebanon
• Libya
• Mali
• Niger
• Nigeria
• Palestine
• Philippines
• Somalia
• Yemen

James Scarr, who served as shadow immigration minister until Friday, distanced himself from the draft after it leaked. “I never proposed any such policy. I never agreed to any such policy. I have a range of serious concerns with respect to any such policy,” he said. It is understood Scarr had raised those concerns internally when the ban was first floated.

Beyond regional bans, the plan would move to remove as many as 100,000 asylum seekers and international students more quickly, limit visa holders’ rights to appeal adverse immigration decisions, and block them from applying to other visa categories. It also contemplates tougher vetting of public activity — including social media — to detect extremist sympathies, alongside cuts to international student visas and a reduction in the permanent migration intake.

The backdrop is a clogged appeals system. As of Jan. 31, there were 50,686 appeals to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) against study-visa decisions, refusals or cancellations. More than 48,000 rejected asylum seekers were appealing protection visa refusals via the ART. The tribunal reported that for protection visa reviews finalized between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2025, half concluded within three years and six months, and 95% within five years and five months.

Following the Bondi attack, the federal government strengthened Migration Act powers to refuse or cancel visas for individuals who endorse or publish statements that spread hatred. The Liberals’ leaked draft would go further, applying broader screening and exclusion tests.

Taylor has made migration a core priority of his leadership. “Numbers have been too high and standards have been too low,” he said in his first address as leader. Speaking to reporters on Friday, he added: “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.” A senior Liberal MP said they expected Taylor to “toughen up” the party’s rhetoric on immigration and further strengthen the draft plan.

Internal discussions under Ley also canvassed bringing net overseas migration down to a range of about 160,000 to 220,000 a year, according to party figures. The government has set the 2025–26 permanent migration program at 185,000, with net overseas migration forecast at 260,000 for the year — a marked drop from post-Covid peaks.

Scarr is not expected to return to the immigration portfolio in Taylor’s reshuffle. Taylor is set to unveil a new-look shadow cabinet in coming days, with moderate Tim Wilson anticipated to be named shadow treasurer.

By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.