Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Lazarus. I believe you may be referring to the skills lists. You will be interested to know that when I was the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection there was a body referred to as MACSM, the Ministerial Advisory Council on Skilled Migration, which is a body which represents not just employers but unions as well. In fact, Ged Kearney, the head of the ACTU, is on this body. MACSM is looking at the varying skills lists that are chosen when looking for 457 visa holders. The 457 visa program is very much a demand driven program. So if there is a shortage somewhere and the skill is on the relevant skills list, the employer is, subject to fitting in with all the criteria, able to bring someone in. But going back to the general premise— (Time expired)