Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am not quite sure how to interpret those comments from the opposition, but that sounded like a resounding endorsement of the government’s activities in this area of policy. The senator ought to know that these changes follow measures announced in December that resulted in only those migrants sponsored by an employer or in an occupation on the critical skills list being granted visas under the permanent skilled migration program, with over half of the permanent visas being granted to applicants already living and working in Australia. So this latest decision by the government to cut the program by another 14 per cent is further proof of us responding to the global financial crisis and the downward pressure it is putting on our economy.

As a responsible government the federal Labor government is moving fast to respond to these challenges. Not only are we now specifically addressing another measure with respect to the migration program but also we have done many things already this year, as all senators know, to address the pressure on our economy, the slowing of our economy, and the need to stimulate jobs and, where we possibly can, forestall the loss of jobs in key sectors. It is worth while in the context of this debate to talk about the stimulus package that the Rudd Labor government has put in place, the most recent component of which is $42 billion worth of spending, which includes a substantive investment in our education sector. Building the Education Revolution is about providing jobs in a clever place and stimulating the economy at the community level. For many working people this kind of stimulus will mean the difference between keeping a job and not keeping a job, and the complementarity provided by the cut in the permanent skilled migration program as announced today starts to fit pieces of this very challenging puzzle together as neatly as we can possibly manage.

It has long been the case, as I think all senators in this chamber know, that the government can adjust immigration levels according to the economic circumstances of the day. Last week’s cabinet decision to cut the skilled migration rate in light of the worsening economic situation is further proof of the Rudd government’s responsibility to act in the face of this worsening crisis.

Another change to the program is the removal of the building and manufacturing trades, such as bricklayers, plumbers, welders, carpenters and metal fitters, from the critical skills list. The list will remain but will now comprise mainly health, medical, engineering and IT professions, in which there are still some skills shortages. Particularly in health care we need to maintain a program to ensure that we source the skilled professionals that we need whilst still protecting local jobs and the wages and conditions of Australian workers. The Rudd Labor government is still committed to a migration program but will continue to monitor the migration intake and will set the 2010 migration program to reflect the economic climate as part of the budget process. We understand, as the senators throughout this chamber know, that it is an essential part of our economy.

I will take the last minutes of my time to reflect on some of the comments made by the previous senator in this debate. Senator Fierravanti-Wells compared the handling of migration by the federal Labor government with that of the former government. The former government had a very poor credential with respect to skilled migration, and I make particular mention of the temporary skilled migration program. I saw firsthand abuse of that program, with employers seeking to exploit temporary skilled migrants in local employment here in Canberra. This resulted in a number of those employers incurring a penalty in the Federal Court because of their poor treatment of those workers. It stands on the record as a very poor reflection of the previous government, with its lack of attention to the quality of the temporary skilled migration program, and it is also a symbol of the extreme neglect of what was happening on the ground. It was one thing for the former government, along with employers around the country, to stand up and claim the great work they were doing to assist with the skills shortage, but they never took the care to ensure that these workers were looked after, and, in fact, paid and provided with conditions in accordance with the law. The Howard government has a disgraceful record of management of immigration policy. (Time expired)