Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to talk about labour market testing and the visa processes that we have in this country. Randalls Equipment is a small company based in Point Cook in my electorate. It is a successful second-generation Australian-owned family business that designs and manufactures grapples for logging and other purposes. It is a small business that provides 16 local jobs in my electorate in high-end manufacturing. They service the domestic forestry industry, export to Indonesian and Malaysian markets and import world-class harvesters.

Over the winter break, the managing director, Peter Randalls, contacted me with a matter of urgency as the company required a 457 visa application situation to be resolved before it resulted in further damage to the company. As the supplier of the Scandinavian Ponsse machine, sales in 2015-16 were significant. As a result of the specialist resigning and there being no-one in Australia capable of training users in the Ponsse machine, sales dropped a staggering 58 per cent. The changes announced in April by the government impeded the ability of Randalls to quickly employ an identified specialist, meaning the company was facing devastation.

Peter understands that the requirements for a 457 visa should be complex. In fact, he summed up, sitting with me, what most Australian attitudes are towards foreign worker visas. He said he thought the process should include himself sitting in Canberra, if necessary, with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and having to put a very clear case for why it was important for the continuation of Australian jobs that he have this person on board.

I am happy to advise the House that, after I made representation to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, common sense prevailed in this case and the visa was granted. I am advised that the specialist is set to start work at Randalls Equipment this week. There is no doubt in my mind that there has been, as we have seen, exploitation of this visa class and subsequent exploitation of workers in this visa class. But, in this instance, like most Australians, I support this 457 visa being issued so that 16 other local people in my community continue to be employed in manufacturing and so that Australians in this company can be trained in the areas of expertise that this person will provide.

I will visit Randalls Equipment next week and be fascinated to see the high-end manufacturing that they are doing as a small company in my electorate that has been running for 70 years, has potential for expansion and, in fact, plans for strategic expansion across Australia. I would like to put on the record that I appreciate the support provided by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection on this issue.