Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

As Senator Back knows, and as those opposite also know but refuse to say so, that is false. The claim that the government has included a special arrangement for projects worth more than $150 million, where labour market testing is not mandatory, is completely and utterly false.

The investment facilitation arrangement is modelled on the enterprise migration agreement that Labor actually designed and introduced. But there is a big difference. Our IFA has far more stringent safeguards to ensure Australian workers get the first crack at any jobs. The IFA involves a three-stage process: firstly, entering into the IFA; secondly, the project agreement phase, where labour market analysis is a requirement; and, thirdly, the labour agreement stage, where labour market testing is a mandatory requirement. (Time expired)