Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes with concern the extent to which 457 visas are being used where there are ample, suitably qualified Australians; and

(2) urges the Government not to delay the completion of its review or its response to this growing problem.

A couple of months ago, when I was in the Pilbara, I was approached by a number of chaps in hi-vis vests who were working on the Roy Hill project. They came to me to say that they were employed by Samsung, who were doing the construction under contract for the Roy Hill project, and that they were absolutely horrified by what was going on with 457 visas, that in fact these visas were being systematically rorted. I must say that in Western Australia we do understand that during the boom absolutely we needed 457 visas. We needed to move very quickly to exploit our resources and to get the march on some of our competition and 457 visas were part of that. But as I go around the state I have many more complaints about what is going on with 457 visas and the misuse of other visas such as the 651, 676 and be the 988. There is no doubt in my mind that the 457 visa is creating a culture that is discouraging investment in skills and training. The national resource sector employment task force a couple of years ago made it clear that the resources sector employs considerably fewer apprentices than would be expected for its share of employment. They looked at its trade and at its apprentices and said that in fact the sector would have to double the number of apprentices to be on a par with other industries. So we started looking at 457 visas and the stories which kept coming up were deeply alarming. First of all, there was this Samsung case where a whistleblower had come forward and had this to say. They said that between 150 and 200 457 visas workers were employed on the Samsung project and that half of these white-collar workers were Korean nationals. Most were young workers, under the age of 30, and had very poor English language skills. The wage rate was less than $16 an hour. The workers are made to work excessive hours. They are working from 7 am to 9 pm every day, with only one day off a month. Many of these workers are not working in the occupation nominated for their 457 visas. Engineers are acting as occupational health and safety officers, with no qualifications, or in lower level roles in human resources, payroll, marketing, reception, publicity and site administration. And I have to say that this is a complaint that we hear about many companies.

They went on to say that the sponsor, Samsung C&T, has not been authorised by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to employ the 457 visa workers in occupations other than those nominated for in their 457 visas and many of the 457 visa workers themselves are suffering extreme stress as a result of the very long hours and the onerous conditions of their employment. Fair Work Australia has been notified, as has the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. We understand that there is an investigation underway but that appears to be not proceeding with any rapidity.

Unfortunately, time does not allow me to go through all of the other cases that we have, but I want to express my concern about the free trade agreements. I think one of the big sleepers here is the lack of transparency that we see with what the government has been doing with the free trade agreements. The free trade agreements with Chili and Thailand have been changed, so that all Chilean and Thai nationals are exempted from the labour market testing provisions of the 457 visa agreement, and we understand that the Korean trade agreement expressly says that Australia has agreed not to apply labour market testing to granting the temporary entry visas to the staff of Korean service suppliers. We also understand that inherent in this Korean trade agreement is a disparity, in that there is not the reciprocity for Australian workers. So the conditions for Korean workers coming into Australia are far greater and broader than for Australian workers going to Korea. We have also seen the introduction of Facebook testing and the reopening of loopholes in 457s. We must act on this. (Time expired)

David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to address this motion in relation to 457 visas. The member for Perth is right to be concerned to ensure that the 457 visa program is always used in the manner for which it is intended. The need to ensure that is very clear. That is why the government has appointed John Azarias to conduct an inquiry into the operation of the 457 visa system. The role of 457 visas is to enable businesses to access workers from overseas only in situations in which that work cannot be obtained from local workers. That is how the system must always be run.

I think it is important to note that the 457 visa program substantially expanded under the previous government. I know the member for Perth was not here in the last parliament and, whilst I have no doubt her concerns are genuine, it is certainly the case that the 457 visa program expanded very substantially under the previous government. It went from 68,000 people who had 457 visas in 2010 and, by the time at which the previous government left office at the direction of the Australian people, there were 110,000 people who had 457 visas. Under the previous government, within a three-year period, there was actually a 62 per cent increase in the number of 457 visa holders—a very substantial increase. That is a very substantial increase.

It is also important to note that the rate of growth of 457 visas has slowed very substantially under the current government. In fact, between April last year and April this year, the growth in 457 visas was only one per cent—that is, around 110,000 people in both April 2013 and April 2014 held 457 visas. That demonstrates that the program is being managed in an effective and prudent fashion. As with all areas of policy, it is always appropriate to review their effectiveness, and that is what the Azarias review will do. It is due to report very soon, with the date of 30 June given for the report's approval.

It is important to reflect on where the 457 visa program is effective. There are circumstances in which it is not possible for jobs to be fully filled by local employees. The last thing that any of us want to see is an Australian business close down due to lack of labour. In those circumstances, it is appropriate to access that labour to ensure that the business can function. There was a 60 per cent increase in the number of people with 457 visas within a three-year period under the previous government. That is more than 20 per cent growth per year. That certainly suggests very strongly that the previous government was supportive of 457 visas and, indeed, very substantially expanded their operation. We will see in the Azarias review, when it shortly reports, the extent to which that expansion was in the best interests of the country.

It is also important in the context of this debate to talk about the importance of free trade. Free trade is good for local economies because, if we want to be able to sell our goods and services to foreign markets, we need to behave in a reciprocal manner with those nations. The minister for trade has done an exceptional job in securing free trade agreements on behalf of the nation. The Azarias report will have more to say on the 457 visa system shortly.

Debate adjourned.