Justine Keay (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to have this opportunity to speak on the Migration Amendment (Skilling Australians Fund) Bill 2017 because there are so many parts of this legislation that directly relate to my electorate in north-west Tasmania. The previous speaker, the member for Bendigo, talked about labour market testing. A little bit later in my speech, I will give an example of how this coalition government and the Tasmanian Liberal government have failed not only local workers but also local businesses in that area. So there is a little bit of a bittersweet irony that this government proclaims itself to be supporting Australian workers and their skills, when all actions to date really suggest that it's the complete opposite.

Labor does have genuine concerns that this legislation will not go far enough, that it will not legislate strict labour market testing across not just a number of occupations but all occupations and all skilled visas. Ordinarily, legislation that seeks to protect the jobs of Australians from overseas labour would be something that this side of the House would endorse, but, when it comes to matching the rhetoric with reality, this government cannot be trusted. The member for Bendigo gave examples of how that has occurred in her own electorate. For each of these policy failures, Labor has a solution—a solution that this government seems incapable of finding and implementing because it's simply blinded by ideology.

As I have said, this government has form when it comes to labour market testing. When Labor were last in office, we strengthened visa laws so that employers were required to look locally first. The now Prime Minister, the now minister for immigration and the now Treasurer all voted against Labor's sensible changes. When in opposition, they voted against better market testing and more controls, and they've taken almost five years in government to do something about it. But even now what the government is proposing comes nowhere near Labor's policy to support local workers. Labor's policy genuinely puts local workers first.

Our Labor leader and member for Maribyrnong has previously introduced a private member's bill to this place on these issues. That legislation is about supporting the Australian wages system, upholding our standards and creating Australian jobs. It sets more rigorous evidence requirements for labour market testing for firms seeking to use 457 visas with: a mandatory requirement for jobs to be advertised for a minimum of four weeks; a requirement for labour market testing to occur no more than four months before the nomination of a visa worker position; a ban on job ads that target only overseas workers or specified visa class workers to the detriment of locals; and a crackdown on job ads that set unrealistic requirements for vacant positions, as specifically designed to exclude locals. Under Labor's plan, if employers genuinely need a 457 visa holder for their business, they should have to provide evidence and information to prove it. Labor simply asks employers to show their need for the nominated occupations and to prove none of these positions can be filled by Australians.

This brings me to the example in my electorate where a couple of years ago the state Liberal government decided to use some money in cash reserves to refurbish the Spirit of Tasmaniavessels. It was a $20 million to $30 million project. They contracted a UK-based company to undertake the work, and that company brought in 44 per cent of the labour used in that project from overseas. I remember getting a phone call from a local businessman who, after complaints in the media that local businesses and workers were being excluded from this work, said to me that the government had asked the contractor to drip-feed local businesses some work—a little bit here and a little bit there—to keep them quiet. This man, who had his own business, said to me, 'There are foreign electricians running cables on the vessel that any electrician can do.' It was absolutely disgusting, but he could not speak out about it, because if he did the government would exclude him from any further work. This impacts on not only the workers but the businesses in my community. I'm absolutely outraged that the federal Liberal government is doing nothing and that the state Liberal government is complicit in bringing in overseas workers on a publicly-funded project.

On this side of the House, we know temporary work visas are not the long-term answer to the national skills shortage. We need a national training agenda. We need to invest in TAFE, training, skills and apprenticeships. We should not be discouraging people from learning a trade or getting a qualification by sending them the message that employers can just bring in someone else who is willing to do the job for less.

The policy failures of this government, when it comes to skills and training, have hit hard in Tasmania. Under the Liberals, 1,900 apprentices have disappeared from Tasmanian industry. The biggest loss has taken place in my electorate of Braddon, where there are now 704 fewer apprentices than when the Abbott-Turnbull government was first elected. The trend continues under the Hodgman state government. The skill sector and TAFE have lurched from one crisis to another.

Overall, the amount of federal government support for apprentices, TAFE and VET has been cut by $3 billion under the Liberals. The Abbott-Turnbull government has also abolished the Industry Skills Fund and has dismantled the cooperative approach to skills involving unions, employers and government. When it comes to growing the skills base of Tasmanians, this is simply not good enough. I am pleased that the Tasmanian Labor leader, Rebecca White, has formulated a real plan to deal with the issues at a state level. Tasmanian Labor will establish industry advisory councils to create what is missing—a strong link between industry and education providers. I can tell you from every meeting I have with industry in my electorate that there's no connection between them and education and training.

I know from the work I have been doing as the secretary of Labor's Australian Jobs Taskforce that there is real disconnection between schools, training providers and industries, not just in my state but across the country. The first task of Tasmanian Labor's industry advisory councils will be to conduct industry audits to gain an understanding of what the skills needs are in those various sectors—a very sensible first approach. State Labor will also back business with an apprentice bonus scheme, which state Liberal leader Will Hodgman belatedly copied, of course—it's a good thing when your opponent copies good policy—after sitting on his hands for four years.

At a federal level, Labor's plan for jobs and skills development will see increased investment in TAFE and increase quality traineeships and apprenticeships. Federal Labor will restore the $637 million cut by the Turnbull government from VET funding in the 2017 budget. Federal Labor will make TAFE the centrepiece of our training system by guaranteeing that at least two-thirds of all government VET funding goes to TAFE and by investing $100 million in revitalising campuses across the country. Federal Labor will ensure that one in 10 jobs on all Commonwealth priority projects is for an apprentice. Labor will expand pre-apprenticeship programs for young jobseekers and invest in advanced adult apprenticeships for workers in transition. This side is serious about lifting our skills base and is serious about giving our young people across the country the ability to gain a trade.

If there is one area in my electorate, in Tasmania, that highlights the government's policy failures when it comes to skilled labour, it's of course the agricultural sector, and particularly the horticultural sector. Just last week, along with the member for Bendigo, I met with industry players and heard that the Tasmanian horticultural industry is facing a severe labour shortage. This means that the crop will fall to the ground. I want to put on record my thanks to Mike Badcock from Enchanted Isle Farms for his help in bringing these people together.

The forum heard that, while the industry has just managed with the summer harvest, a much larger workforce is required for the late summer and autumn harvests as apples and pears come on line. The forum highlighted a number of issues, including the backpacker tax—funnily enough; I think the writing was on the wall on that one—and changes to the 88-day second visa requirements. The forum was also told that exploitation by unscrupulous labour hire companies, strip picking versus select picking, and inconsistent piece rates are just some of the contributing factors. There is no consistency among the ways in which farmers secure their labour. Some use labour hire; others, Gumtree; and others, word of mouth, and many just pop up on the doorstep. Without a consistent method of securing labour, farmers are continually struggling to meet their labour needs.

It was pointed out that a lack of support from regional job service providers—we hear this everywhere, and the member for Bendigo mentioned it as well—was another issue, with examples of providers not being connected to local farmers. These farmers should be the clients of these agencies, and they are not, because it's the jobseeker who comes with the money, so they can just tick the box and send them on their way. Some don't even go to the farms and talk to the farmer about what he or she needs. They are just not interested in securing a person capable of doing these jobs.

Another well-made point is that there is a need for the department of employment to gather the empirical data on why young people do not last working in the horticultural sector. They come for a day; they leave; and no-one knows why. What are the barriers put in place for this person in not staying on? That's the information we need to know to help support these industries and young people in our communities.

The overwhelming consensus from the forum is that the agricultural labour supply issues are a mess, created by a series of policy failures. The industry is calling on all levels of government to come together and work collectively to find a solution. Labor is prepared to do that. One outcome from the forum is that the Tasmanian horticultural industry will supply case studies and evidence to support future policy development, and I thank them for that.

Part of this policy solution may include what I consider to be a very valuable suggestion from the forum—that we trial community hubs where potential worker and industry needs can be matched up. It is pretty simple. I'm sure that, with some work on it, it will work. These hubs will potentially remove the middlemen and make it much easier for industry to secure a workforce—whether that is local or backpackers. We understand there is always a need for backpackers.

The Tasmanian industry generally want to engage with all levels of government, but, to date, all they have received from this government is lip-service and an industry-destroying backpacker tax fiasco. After the forum we also met with a local orchardist who told his story of trying to secure labour and what visitors tend to do. I have previously mentioned the disconnect between education and industry as being a contributing factor. A number of speakers at the forum were at pains to point out that there was no encouragement at school for young people to pursue a career in the primary industries sector.

Today I received a real-life example of this situation. I received a copy of a letter written by a young person from my electorate to Costa Group, who have a number of berry farms across my electorate. This young person has been fortunate to receive a North-West Scholarship in Agricultural Science from Costa Group. I want to read into Hansard the last sentences of his letter to Costa Group. He said: 'Your generosity has inspired me further to help others and to give back to the community. I also wish to advocate for change in Tasmanian's secondary education. During my secondary education, I found you were not educated about agriculture in any of the core subjects and did not have the opportunity to study agriculture as an elective.' This young person's letter sums up just how much work is needed to address the labour and skills shortages in our primary industry sector.

The legislation before the House is just one small piece in the jigsaw but a piece that can and should be better. What is needed is a government that has a genuine plan for education and training, a government that has a genuine plan to ensure employers look locally first before employing overseas labour, a government that will genuinely work with industry, unions and key stakeholders to develop the policy solutions that are needed to create decent and secure jobs for Australian workers. I am sad to say that I don't think this current government can deliver that.

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