Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment, Senator Abetz. I refer to the job losses in our home state of Tasmania of 36 seafarers of the Alexander Spirit, a ship which has since returned to Australia staffed with a foreign crew paid at rates as low as $2 an hour. What is the government doing to prevent the further loss of Australian seafaring jobs to cheaper foreign crews—or does he share the view of the Deputy Prime Minister that Australian shipping job losses are trivial issues?