Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. Will the minister update the House on actions the government is taking to ensure our skilled migration program serves the best interests of the Australian community? How is the government ensuring that our migration programs put hardworking Australians first, and how does that compare with other approaches?

Mr Hill interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Bruce is warned.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Brisbane, a great member for the electorate of Brisbane, representing the people of Brisbane incredibly well. I congratulate him on the great start he has had in this parliament.

We have seen on display today from the Leader of the Opposition exactly what has been on display during his whole working life. There has been one example of hypocrisy after another. We know that when Labor were in government they lost control of our borders—1,200 people drowned at sea and 50,000 people arrived on 800 boats—and this Leader of the Opposition sat around the cabinet table where he made incompetent decision after incompetent decision. But that was not the extent of his hypocrisy and incompetence as a minister in the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd glory years.

We have seen this Leader of the Opposition pretend to be the best friend that workers have ever had. What happened, as the Prime Minister pointed out, was that he was out bargaining on behalf of workers, so it seemed, and yet at the same time the companies with whom he was bargaining were paying secret payments to his union. He failed to disclose that to the workers, and the workers had a reduction in their conditions. He claimed to be the great protector of workers; it turned out that he was a complete hypocrite. It did not stop there—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will just withdraw that term.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw. We know that there is a course of conduct with this Leader of the Opposition because, when he was the employment minister, he pretended that he was the best friend that workers ever had. What we know is that, under the watch of Labor and the Leader of the Opposition in his capacity as the then employment minister, the numbers in the 457 program, where we bring foreign workers to take jobs in this country—

Mr Hill interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Bruce will leave under 94(a).

The member for Bruce then left the chamber.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

went from 68,000 primary visa holders up to 110,000—an increase of 40,000. At the same time, the Leader of the Opposition was pretending to be the friend of the Australian worker. So the Australian public is starting to work out that there is something that does not add up about this Leader of the Opposition.

But it does not stop there. We know that this week the Leader of the Opposition has pretended to be the best friend of construction workers. The CFMEU have put robocalls into the member for Indi's electorate to try to pressure her on how she votes in this place. But, as we know from looking at the figures in relation to the 457 program, the number of construction workers who came on 457 visas when the Leader of the Opposition was the employment minister went up. They went up when he was the employment minister. This demonstrates— (Time expired)