Cameron Thompson (Blair, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Attorney-General in his capacity representing the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. Would the Attorney-General advise the House of government initiatives to enable companies to meet skills shortages by bringing in workers on temporary visas? Is the Attorney aware of the level of support for these programs?

Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Blair for his question because I know that the member for Blair, like many members of this House, appreciates particularly the importance of temporary workers entering Australia as a source of labour, particularly in regional areas, where there are skills shortages that cannot be met in the local labour markets. Many leaders of state and territory governments around Australia have forcibly put those views over time. It is very obvious that skills shortages which are left unmet often deny other Australians work opportunities. In these cases, companies can turn to temporary workers from overseas and use particularly the form of visa known as a 457.

Employers are particularly supportive of these measures. Without them many of those companies would have trouble in continuing to expand their operations or maintain them. Often that would put at risk the jobs of Australians. It is for this reason that the government has been responding positively to community and business needs.

But that support is not universal. The Labor Party have made no secret of their dislike for the temporary entry visa system. They are dressing these arguments up in ways which I think bring them no merit. The Leader of the Opposition has made it clear that he does not want companies bringing in qualified workers and welders. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition has been critical of workers entering under the 457 system and so has the member for Watson.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Childcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Plibersek interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Sydney!

Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am interested that the member for Sydney is speaking about this matter, because there are other members of this House who recognise the value of people coming in under the temporary work visas, and they even write at times to the minister on behalf of their constituents.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Childcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Plibersek interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sydney is warned.

Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to see her remain, because I make the point that there are numbers of members who write to the minister on behalf of constituents advancing the very reasons that this government gives for this program. In fact, I have a letter here from the member for Sydney. The member for Sydney wrote to the minister on 19 April. She said that she was concerned that a constituent could not expand his restaurant business until he could bring in a chef. She went on to say that her constituent had employed extra staff to work in expanding the business. She went on and said he had to turn down a lease on prime restaurant space because he was not able to expand his restaurant until he had received the approval.

We know where the Labor Party stands on these matters. There are some members who go out and argue on behalf of their constituents that the visa system should be expanded, while there are others out there suggesting that these measures do not benefit the Australian community, do not create jobs and put jobs at risk—when nothing could be further from the truth, as the member for Sydney knows.