Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I completely disagree with so much of what is in this motion. In fact, I rise to condemn the government for negotiating a China-Australia Free Trade Agreement that removes safeguards that would protect Australian jobs. There is a reason why Labor has supported most other free trade agreements but not this agreement. Other agreements that came before this parliament and the Australian people contained safeguards that protected Australian jobs. This agreement fails, and this government and government backbenchers have their heads in the sand when it comes to this agreement.

Let us look at the letter that was sent by Andrew Robb, the minister, on 17 June 2015. It states clearly in the letter that he sent to his counterpart: 'Australia will remove the requirement for mandatory skill assessments for the following 10 occupations on the date of entry into force of the agreement.' It lists these 10 occupations: automotive electrician, cabinet-maker, carpenter, carpenter and joiner, diesel motor mechanic, electrician, electrician special class, joiner, motor mechanic and motorcycle mechanic. The minister's own letter states very clearly that, on ratification of this agreement, the mandatory skill assessment for these occupations will cease to be required. The letter goes on to state that the remaining occupations will be reviewed within two years of the agreement, aiming to further reduce the number of occupations requiring this mandatory skill assessment.

This is a dodgy agreement and it is bad for Australian workers. It does what no other agreement has done in the past and removes safeguards ensuring, firstly, locals get job opportunities first and, secondly, that people coming to work here meet the mandatory skill assessments. I am sure China is very proud of what it has been able to negotiate. It is a country that relies on migration of workers who send pay and remittance back to the country. It is something that China has done for centuries and centuries, yet we are the first country to agree to forgo our own labour market testing and our own labour market safeguards that ensure that Australians get offered job opportunities first.

There are other issues with this China free trade agreement that the government backbenchers are choosing to ignore. With this agreement, for the first time ever the government is seeking to enable semi-skilled professions and workers to come in under the 457 visa category. Semi-skilled—so we are not talking about a skilled migration temporary work visa program now; it is being extended in this agreement to semi-skilled workers. Within semi-skilled professions, we are talking about concreters, scaffolders, truck drivers and even office workers. This is one of the other problems with what this government has put forward in the China free trade agreement. This government is also removing labour market testing—that critical point at which, in offering jobs, a company must see if there is a local person able to do the job first. That is a critical difference in this agreement compared to other agreements. As I have mentioned, the mandatory skill assessment for safety has been removed. Another element of this agreement that does not exist in others is the generous holiday visa offering for 5,000 young Chinese workers to come into this country, yet there is no equivalent for Australian workers—none whatsoever.

This is a bad agreement. It fails to include the necessary safeguards to protect Australians and Australian jobs. Further still, when we have a problem with the 457 visa program in Australia, where daily we hear examples of exploitation within the 457 visa program—to the extent that the last workplace ombudsman review into the 457 visa program found that one in five people here on that visa were being exploited—it is the wrong time to expand it even further. That is what the government are trying to do. They are not putting Australians first; they are not putting Australian jobs first; they have signed up to a dodgy deal which only costs Australian jobs. The government are trying to blame the unions and blame Labor for a dodgy deal they have done that does not put Australians and Australian job seekers first.

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