Julian McGauran (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Senator Vanstone. Will the minister inform the Senate about the important contribution being made by skilled migrants to Australia’s economic growth? Is the minister aware of any alternative policies?

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

I thank the senator for his question. I am sure that, coming from Victoria, a state that is very interested in skilled migration and, in particular, the use of 457s—the skilled temporary migration visas—he is very interested in this matter. It is a delight to Australians that we are experiencing 10 years of economic growth, a long-term economic growth that we have not experienced in a long time. It has led to lower inflation and, importantly for Australian families, low interest rates. No government, by any means, can put in people’s pockets as much money as will be put in their pockets by interest rates staying low and their mortgage payments therefore being down.

That good news of course does have a slight difficulty—that is, it can lead to a skills shortage, especially when you come into government after the previous government has cut funding for apprenticeships and trainees to get the opportunity to gain a qualification and when you come into government after the previous government has given Australia a recession that the Prime Minister said that we apparently had to have. Nonetheless, what Labor would do with this good news and the skills shortage is in fact run us into the ground, as they have in the past. Almost every time we have had a boom in the past, Labor have said, ‘Let’s really exploit this for us; let’s not worry about the long-term interests of Australia,’ and have brought it to an end. That was the fabulous—you might remember them—five minutes of economic sunshine that we had under the Labor government.

Long-stay business visas—that is, 457s—allow Australian business to get the skills they need to make the most of those economic conditions. As we are growing, a company has a chance to grow and to employ more people. It needs more skills, but if it cannot get the skills it cannot grow, and Labor’s policy is to say, ‘Let’s put a stop to all of this and remain stagnant,’ which would, of course, be a disaster.

Mr Beazley has been showing time and time again that he is now and would be, were he ever elected to government—heaven forbid—under the thumb of the Australian unions. He needs to get out and talk to Australian companies about their needs and the skills they want so that they can take bigger and better contracts for export and employ more overseas people and more Australians at the same time. He would not understand how business works. He is stuck at the moment in a knee-jerk, xenophobic rut, claiming that skilled migrants take Australian jobs. These are the skilled migrants who built the Snowy. Skilled migrants have always helped build Australia and somehow now they put Australian jobs at risk. It is completely crazy.

Mr Beazley is clearly in conflict with his state Labor colleagues, who are actively involved in working with the immigration department on getting the businesses in their states the skills that they need. They are coming to us and saying: ‘Can we work with you? We want more of these people.’ Who are those people who are working with us? The New South Wales department of health, as I keep repeating, is the biggest user of this program. I do not think anyone accuses the New South Wales department of health—a state government department in a Labor run government—of undermining Australian workers. That would be a surprise.

Mr Beazley’s race-baiting rhetoric is simply there to support the militant unions like the CFMEU. We have all seen what damage the CFMEU can do to the Australian economy. In fact, I think they were people who damaged the Australian Parliament House, weren’t they? They might be one and the same. The bottom line is that these visas are extremely important and used by lots of people. (Time expired)

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.