Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I was asked about 457 visas and I was starting by making the point that we inherited a system from those opposite that was out of control. Of course, a key difference between our policies and plans for the nation’s future and the Leader of the Opposition’s policies and plans is that we believe Australians should go first and we want to ensure, at every stage, that the visa system works to put Australians first. The Leader of the Opposition has a different approach and wants to make 457 visas a mainstay of the immigration system. So there is a clear policy difference and people can judge.

In terms of the data that has concerned me about 457 visa holders, 457 visa holders currently are at more than 100,000. This represents a 21.5 per cent increase compared to February in 2012. Having cracked down on this system once, those kinds of statistics do concern me and I believe it is time to crack down on this system again.

As the minister for immigration has also made clear, I am concerned about the double whammy which comes when you have state Liberal governments which are cutting back access to training, undercutting our apprenticeship system, slamming the door in the face of young Australians who would seek to get skills, and then making representations to the federal government: 'Don't worry about those training places; don't worry about those apprenticeships for young Australians; don't worry about that access to opportunity. Could you assist us by expanding the short-term visa program for part of the state?' Well, no, that is not good enough, and it will never be good enough for training cutbacks to be used as a justification for then bringing in more people from overseas.

We should always make sure that we are putting Australians first through a world-class training system. We should always make sure we are putting Australians first in access to jobs and opportunity. That is what guides this government in our policies and it always will.

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