‘Unbelievable’: Hanson intervenes after One Nation MP claims migration target ‘not too different’ from Labor’s

One Nation has been plunged into disarray over immigration policy, with leader Pauline Hanson forced to intervene and shoot down MP David Farley’s stunning concession that the party’s headline migration figure would be scarcely different to the Albanese government’s.

Farley sought to redefine the meaning of net overseas migration (NOM) in an interview on Sunday, arguing there was a “true form” of the figure that differs to the way it has long been officially calculated.

“Well, the raw number is not too different [to the government’s], but the reality is, where do we need them?” Farley told the ABC’s Insiders on Sunday.

“We don’t need them in the great urban metroplex. We need them out to be productive, working in agriculture, engineering, mining, etc.”

He continued: “I think the big difference is we’re focusing on what are the skills we need as a nation, where do we need these migrants to be? But the raw number is not too different.”

Labor and the Coalition leapt upon Farely’s comments to argue that One Nation was divided and lacking clarity on a crucial policy for the party, which has put slashing migration at the centre of its pitch to voters.

Amid confusion over its migration policy, One Nation last week clarified that its plan to cap visas was based on a net overseas migration target of 130,000 a year.

In his Insiders interview, Farley said this figure did not include a raft of key migrant categories and that these workers would add at least 100,000 people to the target.

“Well, what we’re doing is we’re focusing on the NOM in its true form, he said.

“Now, on top of the NOM, of course, we’ve got all the other programs that we run, the PALM program, which is important to my electorate of Farrer, the skilled registered aged care nurses etc are all very important,” he said.

The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme includes around 40,000 workers a year, he said, while aged care nurses would add around another 70,000 – plus more in the engineering and mechanical fields.

Migrants are included in the official NOM figure if they stay in the country for a total of 12 months within a 16-month window regardless of their visa category.

Farley, elected in a byelection in May , said that “at a minimum” there would be 100,000 extra migrants on top of One Nation’s130,000 target “but the 130,000 is what we call the ‘true NOM’” .

The federal government’s net overseas migration target is 245,000 for 2026-27 and 225,000 for each of the following two years, around the same as Farely’s total estimate of around 230,000.