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

and maybe the Age as well—where the proposition was put to me that an employer in Western Australia wanted to make sure that he was not engaged in some sort of upward wages spiral. What you do not mention, Senator, is that in the same article the union representative clearly indicated that he believed 457 workers were being used to—and I could be paraphrasing, but it is pretty close to the words he used—prevent the unions ‘exploiting a skills shortage’. So we have some differences of opinion here, Senator Wong.

Equally, Senator Wong in her question says to all of Australia, or such of it that is listening to this broadcast when it goes to air or reads Senate Hansard, that Australia now allows guest workers to come in on minimum wages. In fact, that is not true. I believe Senator Wong would understand that. The requirements of coming in on a 457 visa are that either the Australian award is paid or the minimum salary level, whichever is the higher. In fact, the average for these workers at the moment is about $60,000. It is true that the minimum salary level at the moment is around $41,000, but it is also true that the average is around $60,000—hardly what you would regard as guest workers coming in to work on minimum wages.

What I have said is that, obviously, when people can come in and work under these conditions it does ensure that there is another pool of labour that employers can rely on, but I do not believe—and I do not think that most employers believe—that these visas are used in the manner described by Senator Wong, that is, to drive wages down. But I do believe that they may be used to stop the union movement doing as the union advocate suggested that they wanted to do, namely—in semi inverted commas because I am not sure this is a direct quote—‘exploit a skills shortage’.

For those who have had any experience of recessions or the good times in Australia, this government, even after 10 years of growth and with the lowest unemployment in 30 years, are still not making the boast that Mr Keating made, ‘This is as good as it gets,’ because if Australia sticks with us it will get better. Senator Wong, your party is silly enough to say it was as good as it gets. We do not believe that; nonetheless, we also do not believe that the good times should be brought to an end by an upward wages spiral.