Alan Eggleston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Senator Vanstone. Will the minister outline to the Senate how the temporary skilled migration program is bringing economic benefits to Australia?

Amanda Vanstone (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for the question. His state of Western Australia is a very strong user of the temporary skilled migration program. Australia, as we all understand, is in the middle of an economic boom, and that is good news, but unfortunately it does lead to skills shortages. Labor’s approach to these circumstances would be to simply run this boom into the ground, as they have done with every boom that has ever come to Australia when they have been in office.

We all remember that five lousy minutes of economic sunshine generated by the Keating government’s management of the economy. In contrast, this government has produced conditions that have enabled a long-term boom that we are all enjoying. The business long stay visa allows businesses to get people in with the skills they need to make the most of those conditions—not just to survive but to grow and expand while things are going well.

The union movement and individual unions have embarked on a campaign of attacking this particular visa. The shadow immigration spokesperson has gone out and done a bit of dog-whistling by saying, ‘Why are we bringing people from Beijing, Bombay and Beirut?’ If he were up to date, he would say, ‘Manchester, Mumbai, Memphis and Muizenberg.’ That is what he would really say, because the truth of the matter is that 26 per cent of the people who come in under these visas come from the United Kingdom, 10 per cent come from India, six per cent come from the United States, six per cent from South Africa, and so it goes on. So the proper course of action was to mention Manchester, Mumbai, Memphis and Muizenberg. But the shadow spokesperson did not do that, because he was engaging in xenophobic dog-whistling.

There are very positive outcomes from this program. I have been told of a meatworks that, for example, is able to maintain two shifts running. Without being able to maintain those two shifts running, they would have had to lay off Australian workers.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Urban Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They locked them out! What are you talking about?

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr! Come to order!

Amanda Vanstone (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

These visas can be used to allow Australian workers to really enjoy the benefits of this boom. A motor trader in central Queensland told us that he was now able to train a number of apprentices because he had experienced mechanics to train them. But the opposition are still not convinced. They still complain. They want strong compliance on this visa—and so do I, incidentally. I do not want the visa ever to be misused. But what are they suggesting? That we go out into the health sector? Do we really think that hospitals are bringing in nurses to undermine Australian conditions? I do not think so. Seven per cent of uptake of this visa is by nurses. With an average salary of $62,000, it does not sound like slave labour to me.

Do the Labor Party want me to go to the cancer institutes that bring people in under this visa and say, ‘I am sorry. The opposition thinks you are undermining Australian working conditions, and you cannot have the specialists that you bring in.’ Or what about the hearing centres that desperately need people? Do we want to tell the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research that they cannot use the visa? Would Senator Ludwig say that they would be undermining Australian working conditions by using this visa?

George Campbell (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator George Campbell interjecting—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator George Campbell! I will not ask you to come to order again!

Amanda Vanstone (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is somewhat ludicrous, isn’t it? Are we to send a compliance team and go and raid St John Ambulance? Why don’t we go and raid St John and say: ‘You terrible people. You are trying to undermine Australian working conditions.’ St John are there at every fete and every celebration, looking after Australians. They are there when there is a car crash and bad news to be communicated. That is where St John are, and they use these visas.

Perhaps we should go to St Vincent de Paul—that well-known bastion of hatred of Australian people. Help me here. What a joke. These visas are used by people like St Vincent de Paul and Barnardos for a very good reason: they allow businesses and charities to bring in the skills they need. (Time expired)

Alan Eggleston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Will the minister specify to the Senate which industries across Australia have benefited the most from this program?

Amanda Vanstone (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I indicated earlier, the health sector is a very big user of this system, but I did not get the opportunity to point out that the education sector is also a very big user of this system. The Australian National University, the University of Queensland, the University of Melbourne, Monash University, the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales all use it. There have been, in fact, 296 nominations for lecturers. We could have a debate about whether the Labor Party think they are unskilled—at an average salary of $58,000—if that is the proposition you want to put, but I would not put that proposition. Or we could have a debate about the mining sector, with an average salary of $89,000.

Who was the biggest user in the last year of this visa? The New South Wales Labor government. Let’s send a compliance team and see if they are rorting the system. Let’s see if the New South Wales government are using this to undermine Australian working conditions. We could go to the Rail Corporation, the Wildlife Information and Rescue Service, the Cancer Institute and the Rural Doctors Network. We could go to every state government and say to them, ‘Do you really want to use this visa, because your federal opposition just do not understand?’ (Time expired)

Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Vanstone, the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs.

Amanda Vanstone (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Hang on, I’ll get my pearls on!

Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I refer the minister the answer she gave the Senate yesterday, when she was unable to provide details of two separate allegations of rorted 457 visas at meatworks in South Australia. Now that the minister has had the opportunity to put her pearls on and to obtain advice about these cases, can she update the Senate on the status of these allegations? In particular, can the minister confirm that DIMA advised a union official some two weeks ago that foreign workers at a Murray Bridge meatworks were not engaged in skilled work and were being paid less than they should? If these workers were not engaged in skilled work, isn’t this just confirmation that the visa conditions were not met at the time the visas were issued? Doesn’t this mean that the department has allowed this employer to engage foreign workers in breach of visa conditions at the expense of Australian jobs?

Amanda Vanstone (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for giving me a moment to pop on the pearls! Starting from a low base, I like to do my best—thanks very much. I believe that two places are being looked at in South Australia. As I indicated yesterday, of course, if an allegation is made, it is going to be investigated. I thought it was a pretty stupid question, actually. Of course, if an allegation is made, it will be investigated.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Chris Evans interjecting—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Evans, come to order.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, I asked you to come to order. I do not want a lecture. Resume your seat.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to raise a point of order.

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When I sit down you can make your point of order.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order about the abuse of question time. I raised this with you yesterday. Ministers are making no attempt to answer the questions. This is a repeat of a question asked of Senator Vanstone yesterday because she was allowed to carry on with a statement and abuse of the shadow minister, which did not relate at all to the question. We then had Senator Abetz’s performance today. Opposition senators will get frustrated and unruly if there is no integrity in question time, and I ask you to ensure the integrity of question time.

Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He did not seek leave. If Senator Evans wants to make a statement he should seek leave.

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Ian Campbell and Senator Evans, come to order! Senator Evans raised a point of order. The minister has had less than 30 seconds to answer the question. She has got three minutes and 27 seconds left on the clock. I remind her of the question and I ask senators to remain silent while she is answering it.

Amanda Vanstone (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. I can give the senator some information about the meatworks that I think the senator is probably referring to in South Australia. There is one meatworks in particular that is a very reputable Australian employer and, as I am advised, we have no allegations against that meatworks. They employ some 2,100 Australians, including 300 in Naracoorte. Their national workforce includes 13 apprentices and 300 trainees. They have taken on a number of overseas skilled meatworkers to supplement their Australian workforce and transfer skills. The overseas workers enjoy the same wages and conditions as their Australian workforce, many with salaries of over $60,000. As I indicated yesterday—but I did not think that the opposition was listening, as they do not listen to the electorate—all union claims or claims by anybody will be investigated. This visa is critical to maintaining Australia’s skills and to allowing industry not only to survive in a boom but to take real advantage of it to grow exports and create more Australian jobs. So we do not want it misused or undermined any more than anyone else does.

There is one meatworks where there have been allegations made and we are having an independent skills assessment done by the National Meat Industry Advisory Council and they will do an independent and proper assessment. It is an irrelevance that the certifying body for those particular positions was the South Australian government. If a mistake has been made there I will go back to the South Australian Labor government and raise with them whether as a regional certifying body they have done the right thing. I will be saying to the South Australian government: what are you doing certifying these things if Aussies could have the jobs? And do you know what I expect to find? I expect to find that the South Australian government have done their job properly, because we are working very closely with them on immigration issues, unlike with you.

Robert Ray (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Robert Ray interjecting—

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Abetz interjecting—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Ray and Senator Abetz, conversations across the chamber are disorderly.

Amanda Vanstone (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am advised that workers at both of these abattoirs are all on AWAs that have been approved by the Employment Advocate and claims of underpayment at one of the abattoirs, of course, are being investigated. The bottom line with respect to this visa is this: it is very important for Australia that businesses can bring in the skills they need when they need them either for a short-term job or for people to come in quickly and then look at permanent migration. It is vitally important. We must make sure that Australian industry has the skills it needs. We will not condone people underpaying the Australian award or undermining these conditions and we will deal with them when that happens.

Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Will the minister stand by her comments yesterday that companies which do misuse visas will probably ‘lose their right to further sponsor workers’? Can the minister confirm that the Murray Bridge company has been told by DIMA simply to improve the situation? Does this mean that the company will only now be required to train these workers and pay them correctly? Isn’t this yet a further corruption of the integrity of the skilled migration program?

Amanda Vanstone (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The senator carries an imputation in the question ‘isn’t this yet a further corruption’, implying that there already is one. In the thousands of cases of any issue you will find one that is not as good as another. That will be the case. I do not have a full report on the meatworks at Murray Bridge and I can assure you that we are absolutely determined to ensure that isolated examples that are found are dealt with and dealt with promptly. The senator asked me, in effect, whether we would engage in a practice that might ensure the closure of the meatworks. I would be very reluctant to do that, Senator. (Time expired)