EXCLUSIVE Uproar over Liberal Party figure's explosive tweets about mass immigration to Australia - as he suddenly DELETES them: 'Infinity'

Daily Mail​

5 days ago

An economist appointed to a key Liberal Party role has come under fire over old tweets saying the best level of mass immigration to Australia is 'infinity'.
Author and academic Steven Hamilton was appointed as the new chief of staff and economic adviser to deputy Liberal leader and shadow treasurer Ted O'Brien this week.
Insiders hoped Mr Hamilton - an assistant professor at George Washington University - would help the party rebuild its economic agenda following its historic defeat in May.
But his suitability for the role has been called into question after a series of old tweets resurfaced in which he called for a radical boost to Australia's migrant intake.
'The optimal level of immigration is infinity', he wrote in 2023, in a tweet that has this week caught the ire of conservative activists.
Migration Watch founder Jordan Knight said Mr Hamilton's appointment was a 'concerning choice'.
'Why would somebody want infinity immigration when Australians are suffering with record-high rent and house prices, clogged roads, and a standard of living in free-fall?' he told Daily Mail Australia.
'Is the Liberal Party switching back into a mass immigration party?'
In a separate resurfaced tweet, Hamilton described immigration as a 'genius' concept, adding it could allow Australia to 'get fully functional people without that annoying child phase'.
Another read: 'Fertility is a distraction. The key to a better Australia is a bigger Australia, and the key to that is migration.
'And because we disproportionately take working-age people, that's a convenient solution to population ageing, too.
'I'd love to see our government champion that.'
Hamilton has also penned articles defending Australia's comparatively high migration rates as the answer to its shrinking population.
'Suffice it to say that migration-fuelled population growth raises GDP per capita, and with it our standard of living,' he wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald in 2023.
'Is it without cost? Of course not.
'But rather than pointing to these costs to justify yanking the handbrake, perhaps we should instead advocate for better policies to mitigate the negatives.'
Hamilton, who has written columns for the Australian Financial Review, has been outspoken in his criticism of Labor Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
In recent columns, Hamilton criticised Labor for what he sees as inflationary spending and a misguided disdain for the GST.
He advocated strongly for income and company tax cuts, cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and putting an end to bracket creep.
But Hamilton also slammed Coalition policy, including the nuclear policy his new boss spearheaded ahead of the last election.
Mr Knight, who serves as a political adviser to Independent NSW MP Rod Roberts, said Mr Hamilton's beliefs contradicted those of mainstay Liberal party voters.
'The Liberal Party needs to make a choice: Are they on the side of Australians, the majority of whom want far less immigration, or will they listen to its advisers who want continued mass immigration?'
The appointment comes as O'Brien said the Coalition would look to recruit policy talent as opposed to Labor's focus on political operatives.
'In contrast, the Coalition is focused on attracting the best policy brains and we'll be actively engaging with the business sector, which has been ignored by Labor over recent years,' he told the Financial Review.
'The agenda we take to the next election will be values-led, future-focused and economically driven.
'We'll be working hard every day to hold the government to account while formulating policies to build a future Australia that is prosperous, strong and fiercely independent.'
Mr Hamilton said he was looking forward to returning home from the US for the role.
'I look forward to serving the Australian people by supporting an effective opposition,' he said.