One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says she doesn’t care if cutting the number of migrants hurts businesses, and has put Uber drivers and nail technicians in her sights.

After Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke postponed a major speech where he was set to outline measures to reduce the country’s net overseas migration figures, business groups urged caution, warning Labor not to “shoot themselves in the foot” with mooted backpacker caps or changes to family visas.

Australian Chamber of Commerce chief executive Andrew McKellar warned against anything “radical” that “unnecessarily causes a problem in the Australian economy”.

Australian Industry Group Innes Willox meanwhile said making it harder for skilled migrants to bring their loved ones to Australia would have consequences for the economy.

“We have to remember, we’re in a global war for talent here and other countries will be more welcoming,” he said.

Ms Hanson told News24 that she doesn’t “care what people think”.

“Whether it is going to affect their businesses, they’re not going to sell that many products, or you know, the universities because they’re not going to have that number of foreign students coming in here. I don’t care,” she said.

“My concern is for those Australians that can’t get a roof over their head, and a decent standard of living and way of life.”

Ms Hanson says she would slash permanent migration to 130,000 places per year, below the government’s 2026/27 forecast of 185,000.

She said the country doesn’t need “any more Uber drivers, nail technicians, dog walkers”.

“I’m not against migration … never have been. But we’ve got to bring in people who are going to make the country prosperous, that they have something to offer, that they want to be Australians,” she said.

It’s understood the plans Mr Burke had been set to unveil at the National Press Club on Thursday would have included measures to prevent the targets from being overshot, rather than slashing the numbers further.

Measures to do so include preventing partners and children of skilled workers from applying for family visas on shore, and imposing limits on working holiday visas.

He postponed the speech with 48 hours notice because some elements had not been finalised.

Ms Hanson accused Mr Burke of cancelling the speech because the government didn’t really want to cut migration, and declared she was living “rent free” in the minister’s head.

“They’re scared to do anything because of the support that One Nation is getting, and I think we’re having the same impact on the Coalition as well,” Ms Hanson said.

Liberal frontbencher James Paterson meanwhile said the decision to postpone the speech was “embarrassing”.

Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles insisted Mr Burke would be speaking at the Press Club “at the next available opportunity”.

“Migration obviously plays a really significant part in our economy, but it needs to happen at a sustainable rate and that’s why we put in place the policies that we’ve done,” he said.

Originally published as Pauline Hanson declares she ‘doesn’t care’ if migration cuts hurt businesses