Steve Hutchins (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is certainly a pleasure to follow my colleague Senator Sterle in this debate today and to carry on comments that Senator Sterle was making quite forcefully about the nature of the Migration Amendment (Employer Sanctions) Bill 2006 and the lack of effort by the federal government until this point now, seven years after it was reviewed. You would have to think that the government is starting to get a little delusional at the moment. I have been trying to look on the web today to see the comments by Mr Hardgrave—and I am not quite sure what ministerial title he holds. I gather that at the moment one of the answers to our skills crisis in Australia is to train Africans in their detention camps, or whatever they are called, in Kenya and to bring them over here. I want to talk about that a little later but I think that it indicates the two difficulties that the Howard government has had before it for some seven years and is still grappling with.

Firstly, we are undoubtedly experiencing a skills crisis and we are undoubtedly—as I will mention shortly—experiencing a crisis with the lack of employment and career opportunities particularly for young people. Secondly, as this legislation puts forward, we are now dealing with the crisis that has been exposed for some time of the exploitation of so-called ‘skilled guest workers’. As my Labor colleagues have said, Labor does support the bill and does support the sanctions contained in the bill for employers who knowingly or recklessly employ or refer for work unlawful noncitizens or noncitizens in breach of visa conditions.

As Senator Sterle articulately outlined, this issue has been before the federal government for seven years and it is only lately that the government has decided to respond to the Review of illegal workers in Australia: improving immigration compliance in the workplace. That report found significant problems with the number of illegal workers in Australia, the subsequent denial of jobs to Australians and the loss of revenue through uncollected tax and falsely claimed social security benefits. This was reported to the Commonwealth government seven years ago, but here we are in September 2006 finally dealing with this issue. We still have not dealt with the issue of the lack of a skilled workforce available amongst Australian citizens.

Under the previous regime that will no longer apply once this bill is carried, the penalties for illegal employment were weighted heavily against the worker. They were liable under section 235 of the Migration Act. However, for the employer there were no relevant primary offences and the fines under both the Migration Act and the Criminal Code did not exceed $10,000.

Under the new provisions in this bill, employers found in breach can face imprisonment of between two and five years for allowing an unlawful noncitizen to work or a noncitizen to work in breach of a visa condition. This bill fixes a discrepancy in the seriousness of the punishment applicable to both employees and employers. It recognises the culpability of employers who allow people to work for them who would otherwise not be permitted to do so under the law. The second message it sends is to unscrupulous employers who seek to profit from cheap, illegal labour: obey the law and cease your exploitation of illegal workers.

There are substantial numbers of visa overstayers in Australia—46,000 as of December 2005—and they are potentially in the workforce and earning money without paying taxes. We on this side call on the government to follow through on these measures with inspections so that employers using illegal labour are suitably identified and punished. There is a justifiable expectation from the Australian community that these employers will be prosecuted. However, this government has a record of indifference towards the exploitation of workers under the Australian visa system.

We saw only this week the case of ABC Tissues, which employed 50 Chinese workers on 457 visas. They were found to be unskilled in the jobs they were brought here to do. They could not read or understand the English safety signs, were unaware of safe work practices and did not have licences to operate the machinery on the site. I hope it does not disturb the government that, if these Chinese workers came from western China, they are more likely to be Muslims! I do not know if that is disturbing enough for the Commonwealth government to get off its bum and get around to doing something.

We are in the grip of a skills crisis, and that is the reason we have to import skilled workers from overseas, despite the exploitation that they are liable to experience, under the 457 visa system. It is expected that some 40,000 457 visas will be granted this year. That number has increased over the last four years by 66 per cent. On the department of immigration website, the description for the 457 visa says:

This visa is for employers who would like to employ overseas workers to fill nominated skilled positions in Australia.

I feel very sorry for those men and women who have been brought to Australia under bodgie schemes, under schemes that have been misleading. We have had plenty of instances of exploitation of such people, particularly of women in the sex industry. In fact, when I was on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Crime Commission, chaired by Bruce Baird, we were involved in an inquiry into just this issue, and we saw there was exploitation of women in particular in this area. But we are still receiving evidence of the exploitation of men and women in relation to these so-called skilled migration schemes and have received some only recently.

I have been advised that there is a Bankstown company that tried to deport a father of two after his fingers were chopped off in its workshop. Workers Online reports:

… a 46-year-old Korean says the employer refused to call an ambulance after four of his fingers were hacked off at work.

This man said:

… he didn’t believe his employer had workers compensation cover, required by law.

He admitted he was working in Australia illegally, but his predicament has sparked calls from a number of people for rogue employers to face sanctions as set out in this legislation. The man said:

… he lived inside the Bankstown factory where he was required to labour for up to 120 hours a week. He said, for two years, he was paid a flat rate of $10 an hour, with no holidays, sick leave, or super.

As I said earlier, his fingers were chopped off on 19 May this year. This man is desperate.

Only in today’s newspaper we have reports about a Melbourne printing company called Aprint, which hired four Chinese labourers on 457 visas. The Age reports that the company paid them below the minimum wage, did not pay any overtime and made $10,000 of arbitrary deductions from their pay. One man, Jack Zhang, was sacked as soon as the $10,000 was fully deducted from his pay. That was at a rate of $200 a week for 50 weeks. Mr Zhang had a four-year contract. The money was paid to the company’s owner, Dor Tu, who claimed it was for legal fees and travel. This money is on top of the $10,000 Mr Zhang paid in China before he entered Australia. Mr Zhang was also found to have been working 60 hours a week. His weekly pay for ordinary hours was $751.92, which places his hourly rate at around $12.50—below the minimum rate of $12.75. He was also paid a flat rate of $12 an hour for overtime when he should have been paid double time. The AMWU, the union that brought this to the newspaper’s attention, estimates this gentleman was underpaid by about $388 a week compared to the award rate. Mr Zhang must now find another sponsor to hire him or he will have to leave Australia in 28 days.

This is an example of what has been able to occur under the manipulation of the visa scheme. That is why this legislation is welcome. But it is seven years too late for people like the man in the Bankstown factory, people like Mr Zhang or the exploited women in the sex industry throughout Australia. In our country we are seeing Australian workers being denied these work opportunities and appropriate skills training. Why is the government’s solution to the skills crisis to import labour?

This morning, as I said, we heard a suggestion from Mr Hardgrave—I think he is the minister for employment services; I am sure a coalition member will correct me if not, if he or she gets up later. Mr Hardgrave has suggested that the Commonwealth government would build TAFE colleges in Kenya—I think that is correct—for people who are waiting in camps there, and in other places in Africa. I think he only started with Kenya; he might move on, but Kenya is the first place. How ridiculous is that? How ridiculous is it, Madam Acting Deputy President Troeth, for you, a senator who comes from a manufacturing state, Victoria, to stand by and see your coalition colleagues advocate a proposal like that? A Queenslander, I think Mr Hardgrave is; is he a Queenslander? I do not know. He should hang his head in shame. It goes to show just how out of whack Queensland people are when they vote for the coalition.