A senior Liberal frontbencher has sought to distance the party from remarks made by former prime minister Tony Abbott, who stated that Western nations are increasingly being taught to view their own histories through guilt and shame and that mass migration could extinguish "the Anglo-Celtic core culture."
Speaking on ABC Insiders, Dan Tehan was pressed about comments Abbott made at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London. Abbott argued that sustained high migration is being used as a vehicle to fundamentally transform countries like Australia, particularly singling out Muslim migration as a means to dilute and extinguish the Anglo-Celtic culture and Judeo-Christian ethos.
"For those with a grudge against their own country, it's sustained mass migration, especially from places with quite different cultures, that's the surest and swiftest way to change and punish somewhere that's irredeemably tainted by unforgivable sin," Abbott stated during his speech.
Tehan emphasized that the Coalition party room, not the Liberal Party president, sets the nation's migration policies. He referred to Liberal leader Angus Taylor's budget reply speech as setting the foundation for the party's direction.
"It's the Coalition party room that sets the migration policies of this nation going forward. That's something Tony Abbott respects," Tehan said. "He respected that when he was a member of the Liberal/National Party. It's the Coalition party room that sets the migration policy."
Tehan steered the conversation toward Coalition policy, suggesting migration levels should be guided by housing availability. "Making sure we bring migration levels in line with the amount of housing available in this nation so that we can rebalance our migration policy, we can rebalance to make sure that we're looking after Australians first," he stated.
While Abbott accused governments of celebrating "every culture but our own," Tehan reaffirmed his support for multiculturalism, provided it is underpinned by strong values. "Absolutely, multiculturalism has worked for this nation when it's underpinned by incredibly strong values, and we don't want to lose those," he said.
"We're a country of diverse backgrounds, many cultures, but we've got to make sure that we do not lose those values that have made us such a great nation."
The remarks come amid divisions within the Liberal Party, with Abbott supporting One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's call for a uniform culture, a stance rejected by Liberal leader Angus Taylor. Tehan also clarified the Coalition's position regarding One Nation.
"We're not entertaining, we're not discussing, we're not thinking about being part of a coalition with One Nation," Tehan stated. "What I'm saying is, no, we do not want to be part of a coalition with One Nation. We want to be part of a coalition with the Liberal Party and the National Party."
These comments follow a Roy Morgan poll indicating One Nation is polling ahead of the Coalition, with Labor remaining narrowly ahead on the primary vote.
