Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to take note of the answers given by Senator Vanstone during question time today. In doing so, I thank the Labor Party for raising these issues about 457 visas because there is no other opportunity for someone like myself to stand up and say that, if this were ‘football foul-ups’, the Labor Party would star in every single edition for kicking an own goal. For me to stand here and talk about the responsibilities and the need for this country to bring in skilled migrants to fill jobs is an opportunity to remind the Labor Party and the people of Australia that we have the lowest unemployment this country has seen in over 30 years. At 4.8 per cent unemployment, everyone in this country who wants a job can get a job. We are unashamedly a business- and employment-friendly government seeking to allow people to work and to ensure that businesses can thrive and prosper. A key part of a business thriving and prospering is being able to employ staff.

If you cannot get staff to come and work with you because of the economic conditions—and I remind you that we are talking about the most prosperous economy that we have seen—then this government has found a solution. Every time the Labor Party raise the issue of foreign workers, they are demonstrating their clear xenophobia, because they do not talk about overseas workers that are coming out here from the UK or the US. They are constantly referring to Filipino workers or Chinese workers. There is always some Asian implication to it. I say that is raising some very base instincts that I find quite reprehensible.

But let us just talk about this. Skilled workers operate in many industries: in the steel industry, where there are welders, as Senator Kirk just mentioned, the meat industry and also the health care industry. These are critical industries to the prosperity of this country. That is where skilled workers are coming in. They are bringing their spouses and their spouses are also supporting this economy. They are bringing their children in and that is fantastic for this country. We are having a range of people coming here, helping our prosperity and doing the right thing.

But what I find interesting is how the opposition in this chamber are diametrically at odds with their state Labor governments, because around the country the largest users of 457 visas under the skilled migration program are the Labor states and territories. South Australia, a state with critical skill shortages, has more than quadrupled its state sponsored skilled migration intake. It has done that in a range of areas, such as regional communities like Murray Bridge, where T&R Pastoral have brought in a number of workers to work in their meatworks. They are doing it in other areas, such as rural areas, for medical and health reasons. Skilled migrants provide desperately needed relief in areas of labour shortage. They aid in the expansion of our economy and they complement employment opportunities for Australians. But do not take my word alone for it. In 1998, even Mr Beazley said:

Far from taking a job from other Australians, a migrant finding a job in Australia, as we all know, creates jobs elsewhere in the economy ...

The 457 visa is critically important to ensuring that this country can function and facilitate continued economic prosperity. Certainly it is going to be another 15 to 20 years before the next generation of Australians—their parents having been encouraged by things like the baby bonus and Mr Costello saying, ‘Go forth, prosper and multiply’—come on stream to be able to fill a range of jobs. But in the meantime we have the opportunity for new migrants to come to this country to fill jobs that desperately need to be filled, to ensure there is an ongoing prosperity and to allow Australia to lead the world in a multiracial, harmonious and positive society.

Question agreed to.