Labor lashes Coalition immigration plan as Usman Khawaja calls policy ‘appalling’

The home affairs minister, Tony Burke (L), says Angus Taylor’s hardline immigration plan is a decision about ‘what sort of country we are’. Composite: Guardian Design/AP/AAP

Angus Taylor’s plans to favour immigration from liberal democracies would fundamentally change the character of the nation, Labor has warned, challenging the Coalition to explain where existing deportation powers are insufficient.

Home affairs minister Tony Burke lashed Taylor’s new hardline policy, which was unveiled on Tuesday, accusing the Coalition of chasing voters who were moving to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.