Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How can the Prime Minister claim that his skilled migrant visa program is operating properly or effectively, given the breaches and abuses of 457 visa conditions, including at ABC Tissues in Sydney, T&R meats at Murray Bridge, Teys Bros meats at Naracoorte, Kilcoy meatworks in Queensland and another Western Australian case referred to by Senator Vanstone? How can the Prime Minister possibly claim that the government’s temporary skilled migration system is operating in the Australian national interest or in the interests of hardworking Australians?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I can claim it for a number of reasons. I can claim it first and foremost because, demonstrably, we do have a skills shortage at the present time. Clearly, with the economy in many parts of the nation running at or near full capacity, with an absolutely voracious demand for skilled tradesmen in areas such as the resource sector, there is overwhelmingly a need to have a policy that allows skilled tradesmen to come into this country on appropriate terms and conditions.

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition cannot seriously argue that, if you have a skills shortage—which she has been running around the country saying that we have; and I agree with her on that—and you have in many parts of the country effectively full employment, it stands to reason that you have to close the gap in the short term until you can bring more tradesmen on stream from the local area by bringing in people from overseas. It is elementary that you would have to do that. I might remind the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that, in many cases around Australia, the certifying authorities for the people who get the visas are state Labor governments, and they are amongst the most passionate advocates of this system.

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition quoted four companies, one of them Teys Bros. She has been demonstrated to have misled this House in relation to Teys Bros. So, in those circumstances, I do not think her argument carries any weight at all. We need to have a balance in this country, certainly in the short term, between bringing in people from overseas with the requisite skills and bringing on more skilled trades men and women in Australia. This government has struck the balance. Where there are abuses, we will investigate. Where there are breaches, we will sanction them. But we do not intend to throw out a system that is clearly meeting an urgent need and is important to the continuing growth and development of Australian industry.