Liberal leader Angus Taylor has proposed “the biggest cut to immigration in the history” of Australia, unveiling a plan to slash net migration from nearly 300,000 to 100,000 in the first year.

Net migration would then settle at 160,000 per year after four years, giving the country “breathing space” and taking pressure off “roads, schools, infrastructure and housing”.

The Coalition’s migration target is below Labor’s net migration of 225,000 per year, but still higher than One Nation’s goal of 130,000, Taylor revealed on Tuesday.

“There is a better way; a better way with lower numbers and with higher standards,” Taylor told media in Sydney.

“What we are proposing today is the biggest cut to immigration in the history of this country.”

“We will regain control of our borders. We will regain control of immigration in this country, and we will ensure that immigration policy is in the interests of our great country and no one else.”

The Coalition’s plan would drastically cut Australia’s net migrant intake by two-thirds as it bleeds votes to the anti-immigration One Nation.

Temporary visas would be slashed by around 650,000 over four years (excluding New Zealanders).

The rise of Pauline Hanson’s party in the polls has hollowed out the Coalition’s voter base and brought migration to the fore of the political discourse.

The Coalition’s plan echoes parts of One Nation’s proposal, including forcing prospective migrants to go offshore to submit a new visa application.

The policy is expected to curtail so-called “visa hopping” by preventing migrants who have come to the end of their visa from applying for a new one in Australia and filing appeals to extend their stay.

As a result, bridging visas would be virtually eliminated.

Taylor said the cuts to migration would have a positive impact on the economy by better targeting the skills Australia needs and bringing in more skilled workers.

But the Coalition will not produce costings until closer to the 2028 election, once further forecasts to net overseas migration are confirmed by the government.

Temporary graduate visas would be abolished and student visas would be cut from 528,800 in 2025/26 to 456,200 in 2031/32.

The humanitarian intake would be halved to 10,000 per year, and onshore applicants will have a maximum of 30 days to lodge an application.

Working holiday maker visas, which are highly relied upon by farmers and regional communities, will be cut by 23,700 by 2031/32, while fees would be raised for those coming to non-regional areas.

But the Coalition will introduce an extra 15,000 skilled visas for major projects and a new agriculture visa from 2030.

Family reunion visas will be unchanged.

The Coalition will also draw up a list of safe nations to limit the number of vexatious protection visa claims.

Hanson said the Coalition was planning to build more homes then bring in more people to compete for them.

“The Coalition has turned up late to the grand final after both teams have headed back to the change rooms, waving a photocopy of One Nation’s immigration policy,” she wrote on X.

“Who trusts the major parties that created this mess to fix it anyway?”