Amanda Vanstone (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. I can give the senator some information about the meatworks that I think the senator is probably referring to in South Australia. There is one meatworks in particular that is a very reputable Australian employer and, as I am advised, we have no allegations against that meatworks. They employ some 2,100 Australians, including 300 in Naracoorte. Their national workforce includes 13 apprentices and 300 trainees. They have taken on a number of overseas skilled meatworkers to supplement their Australian workforce and transfer skills. The overseas workers enjoy the same wages and conditions as their Australian workforce, many with salaries of over $60,000. As I indicated yesterday—but I did not think that the opposition was listening, as they do not listen to the electorate—all union claims or claims by anybody will be investigated. This visa is critical to maintaining Australia’s skills and to allowing industry not only to survive in a boom but to take real advantage of it to grow exports and create more Australian jobs. So we do not want it misused or undermined any more than anyone else does.

There is one meatworks where there have been allegations made and we are having an independent skills assessment done by the National Meat Industry Advisory Council and they will do an independent and proper assessment. It is an irrelevance that the certifying body for those particular positions was the South Australian government. If a mistake has been made there I will go back to the South Australian Labor government and raise with them whether as a regional certifying body they have done the right thing. I will be saying to the South Australian government: what are you doing certifying these things if Aussies could have the jobs? And do you know what I expect to find? I expect to find that the South Australian government have done their job properly, because we are working very closely with them on immigration issues, unlike with you.