Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. Is the minister aware of an authoritative report by Adrian Rollins in the Australian Financial Review that says that business is on track to import almost 80,000 workers under section 457 work visas this year—this would be a 100 per cent increase on last year’s 39,530 visas? Is the minister further aware that already one in five of those already here have received permanent residency and—even upon the highly questionable premise that this exponential growth rate will not increase and will remain at 100 per cent a year—this will still mean that, even without family reunions, over two million workers will have flooded into this country by 2011? Further, would the minister not agree that, with the government making section 457 people available at $37,700 a year and with nearly half of these people coming from $60 a week wage countries, not only would a business be most foolish—

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

Order! Will the member come to his question.

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

but their competitors would inevitably triumph over them if they did not resort to this super cheap section 457 labour? I am winding up.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Order! Very quickly!

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would not be laughing if I were on that side of the House. You are the blokes that run the racist card—

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

The member for Kennedy will resume his seat. When he is asking a question he will not try to debate with members across the chamber. He will conclude his question or I will sit him down.

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I apologise to the chair. Finally, and specifically, is the minister aware that Teys Brothers at the Innisfail Meatworks have said they cannot get labour—when Innisfail in fact has 2,000 banana workers out of work, their boning room, in spite of claimed labour shortages—

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

The member for Kennedy will resume his seat. The member for Kennedy has asked a series of questions. I will call the Attorney-General to answer his question.

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

I thank the member for Kennedy for the opportunity to speak in response to the questions that he has asked about the use of 457 visas. In relation to the specific questions, some of them may require further information, which I will obtain, but I can say that I understand that one in five 457 visa holders, as he has suggested—I think the figure is 19 per cent—is often able to seek from within Australia a skilled migration outcome on the basis of the skills that they have and on the basis that they satisfy the relevant criteria for a permanent visa outcome. Whether that would lead to two million workers in Australia by the year 2011 is something I would have to check, but, with of the order of 100,000 migrants settling in Australia each year now, one can see how figures of at least half that may well be ascertainable.

In relation to the 457 visa class generally, it was introduced as a result of a report commissioned by a predecessor of mine, former immigration minister Nick Bolkus. The report was prepared by a very distinguished businessman, Neville Roach, and formed the basis of the implementation of the 457 visa class. It has been a system which, from time to time, may be manipulated or misused by some people, but in the main it has been extraordinarily successful. If you look at the number of complaints in relation to the 457 visa class, you will see that something in the order of 200 employers out of 10,000 employers in the program in the period up to September 2006 have been the subject of complaints. In relation to that, DIMA has been doing its job of monitoring the compliance of that program. It has monitored something like 6,471 sponsors and has made site visits to 1,790 sponsors. If you look at the implementation of the program, each time issues are raised about the scheme being potentially misused—and each time issues are raised in this parliament—you will see that DIMA is conscientiously investigating the small number of cases involved.

In relation to the member’s allegation that these are visas for people who are working in relatively low-paid employment in Australia, 85 per cent of persons granted 457 visas in 2005-06 were professionals, managers or associate professionals. The largest single occupation has been that of nurses. When you look at the employment demands within our economy, it is not surprising that we need to have an important and well managed program for administering the capacity of the Australian economy to be able to function effectively.