Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to 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?

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

The Deputy Prime Minister never said that about any job loss in this country. The Deputy Prime Minister is a man who is dedicated, along with the rest of the government team, to doing everything possible to grow job opportunities for our fellow Australians. In relation to the Alexander Spirit of which the honourable senator speaks, what she does not tell the Australian people or the Senate is that this ship has come from a foreign port and is delivering into Australia. It is not engaged in coastal trading. That is where Senator Urquhart, along with her friends from the Maritime Union of Australia, seeks to mislead the Australian people.

If any ship has replaced its crew with a foreign crew, and if what Senator Urquhart says is correct, do you know under what law it was done? It was done under the laws that the Labor Party and Greens forced through this place without proper debate and discussion. It is being done under Labor-Green laws. Indeed two of the ships, including the Alexander Spirit, even when it was engaged in coastal trading—

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a point of order, Mr President: the question asked was: 'What is the government doing to prevent the future loss of Australian seafaring jobs?' That was the core question.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question had a second part about the Deputy Prime Minister, Senator Moore, which the minister has answered. He has 28 seconds to complete his answer.

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

What we are very concerned about is that, within the coastal shipping laws foisted upon this country by the previous Labor-Green government, there are elements that are prejudicing jobs in the cement industry, in the sugar industry and in all sorts of industries.

Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Rubbish! Absolute rubbish!

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

Senator Cameron foolishly interjects, as he always does. To get sugar from Bundaberg to Melbourne you face shipping costs that are higher than if you were shipping from Thailand. (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Does the minister stand by his statement that the suggestion that Australian seafarers are being made redundant in favour of overseas workers is mischievous and disingenuous?

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

Absolutely.

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

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Does the minister understand why Australian workers sacked from the Alexander Spirit have described the return of the ship as a kick in the guts, particularly when almost none of the 36 workers have been able to find work?

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

How they feel is not for me to comment on, other than to say that I can understand that somebody who loses their job would be disappointed. That stands to reason. But what I would invite them to do is ask a simple question. Why is it that they lost their job? Why was it that, regrettably, the Caltex refining company found it could no longer produce or refine petroleum product in Australia? That is why the Alexander Spirit is no longer engaged in coastal shipping in Australia. It used to cart the refined petroleum product from Brisbane to domestic ports around Australia. The refinery closed—no more production. It is now imported from overseas, from Singapore. As a result, it is no longer coastal shipping; it is foreign shipping bringing imports into Australia—a completely different category. (Time expired)