Andrew Bragg stands by proposed migration limits – even as Liberal colleagues decline to back him in

Angus Taylor and other Coalition members not supporting shadow housing minister’s target migration numbers, which would be the lowest figures since the mid-2000s Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has stood by his proposal to lower net migration to 180,000 a year in a wide-ranging speech where he lamented not stopping the Morrison government’s “madness” – even as colleagues side-stepped supporting the target figure publicly. The opposition frontbencher said a housing “shortfall” – comparing the number of dwellings against population size – could be rectified if the net overseas migration (Nom) target was set at 180,000 or under over four years. The reduction would bring the country to its lowest Nom figure since the mid-2000s. “A Nom reduction on this scale is manageable and in line with reductions we’ve seen in the past – for example, in 2009-10 when Nom declined from 300,000 to 175,000 in 18 months,” Bragg said in his address at the National Press Club on Wednesday. “This reduction can be achieved by getting the requisite skill changes that