Amanda Vanstone (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for the question. The senator is simply repeating what I believe is a campaign of untruths and innuendo in relation to a 457 visa, otherwise known as a business long stay. This is a fabulous visa. It helps Australia in a time of economic boom, because we have got some skills shortages. Companies in Australia who want to be able to keep going at an appropriate pace when they strike a peak in their business or they get an opportunity to take a bigger contract need to be able to bring people in from offshore to help them cope with that work and therefore keep going to prosper and grow and, guess what: to therefore protect Australian jobs. A skills shortage puts industry at risk. Meeting that skills shortage protects industry and ipso facto protects Australian jobs.

Unions have been making a number of false claims. I hasten to add that, on any occasion where a claim is made that this visa is being misused, it will be investigated, the people will be dealt with and, in all probability, they will lose their right to further sponsor workers. Let me give you some examples of the type of wording that is being used: the senator said ‘foreign workers’ as if Australia in a global world with global trade can somehow only have Australian workers, not trade overseas, not allow our kids to go overseas and work, because that is the price you pay if you do not want people coming here to work. It follows on the claims made by Mr Burke, the immigration spokesperson for the opposition—