Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

Senator O'Sullivan, you said doormats—that is exactly what you are; they are even calling themselves doormats, because it is unequivocally the position that you are the doormats.

Let's go to the China free trade agreement. For the first time ever there is going to be a thing called concessional 457 visas that extends these visas to semiskilled workers—never been in a free trade agreement before that semiskilled Chinese workers can come into Australia.

They are putting infrastructure facilitation agreements in and they have surrendered rights to alter them to China. You cannot alter that unless China agrees. Investment and employment restrictions have been relaxed, target sectors extended, checks and balances overlooked and unions excluded from ensuring that we get proper employment provisions.

Labor market testing has been abandoned so, if you have got the skills, the ability and the wish to do a job, then they are not included in this agreement. You do not look after them; you are looking after Chinese employment before Australian employment. Mandatory skilled assessment for safety has been removed. Unreciprocated generous holiday visas are offered to 5,000 Chinese—nothing like that for Australians going into China.

So the deal has got real problems in a whole range of areas. That is not going to create the jobs for the future. The government has no idea about jobs. It has got no idea about anything other than economic theory that says: if you reduce wages and conditions, you will create more jobs. You don't have the tools. You don't have the capacity. You don't have the knowledge. You don't have the will to create jobs. You are a job-free zone, this government, so let's go from that point— (Time expired)