Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I indicated when I first started this debate some time ago that I would not take very long, but it has taken a few days—but I certainly have not been on my feet for all that time. In conclusion—and I will come to the issue rather than continue on—this matter should be referred to the Legal and Constitutional References Committee. The regime of 457 temporary visas to address a skill shortage is a mechanism for the destruction of wages and conditions of every Australian worker. It is an area in which there is certainly a cogent reason for this matter to be referred, not only with regard to the issue of 457 visas themselves but also with regard to the procedures and mechanisms that underpin them, and they are detailed in the reference that I moved when I started this debate some time ago.

This matter should be referred but, when you look at the broader mechanisms that are available, you will see that the government might argue that it is a matter that has already gone to COAG and that officials of COAG are looking at the 457 visa. The department has a task force underway. We already know that the minister has had a report into the T&R meatworks’ practices. We are unaware of whether or not that will be made public. We are also unaware of when the task force from the department will report and whether that will be made public.

Similarly, we do not know whether the COAG findings will be made public, although I expect they may be. This reference is a broader reference than all of those because it not only looks at future but also looks at past. The government might argue that there is already sufficient scrutiny, but that is not true. The argument simply cannot be sustained, because the references in this instance allow for the public to have an input, submissions to be called for and made, and the Senate to travel to and call for evidence from a range of capital cities and regional areas to see the impact of 457 visas—both good and bad, as the case may be. There may be some positive benefits.

Labor has always said that the use of the temporary skilled visa is worth while for the purpose for which it was originally designed. This reference would also highlight that purpose and give the government the opportunity to highlight it. It would also allow those matters, where the department is not ensuring compliance, to be exposed. The reference also allows for the department to be called to account and have sufficient scrutiny in the way of questions and answers through the Senate committee process. This process is not available to COAG or the departmental officials in the same way or manner, which is why I argue strongly for this reference. I recognise that I do not have the numbers in this place. I recognise that I will not get this reference up but I still urge the government to look carefully at it.