Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Vanstone, the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. Can the minister confirm that her department is negotiating a labour agreement with the meat industry in relation to temporary foreign workers? Will the minister commit to inserting an hourly rate for temporary foreign workers employed in the meat industry in that agreement?

Haven’t employers asked for such an hourly rate to be included, as a significant step towards stamping out the exploitation of temporary foreign workers in the industry? And why hasn’t the government acted already to make this change to protect temporary foreign workers and stop the abuse of the program? Will the minister also rule out approving any sub-agreement negotiated with individual employers that waters down the conditions or reduces the pay rate contained in the industry-wide agreement?

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

The answer to the question, ‘Are we in negotiations with the meat industry with respect to a labour market agreement?’ is yes. When we have an agreement, if that in fact comes about, I think the senator will be pleasantly surprised by a range of things that we would hope to see in the agreement, certainly including salaries. An agreement may be constructed in an umbrella format so that it is possible to have sub-agreements with individual companies but that will only be for the purpose of ensuring that companies who do not want other companies to know how they are structuring their staff are able to do that—that is, that they can have some confidentiality between them and the Commonwealth as to the numbers. There will be no sub-agreements at all for the purposes of watering down any conditions.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have a supplementary question, Mr President. Can the minister confirm that, instead of tightening up the use of temporary foreign workers in the meat industry, the government is considering expanding the occupations that can be filled by those workers? Won’t this mean that lesser skilled jobs will be filled by those on 457 visas? Doesn’t this show that under this government the program has less to do with plugging critical skills shortages but more to do with opening up sources of cheap labour?

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

In relation to the question, I refer the senator to the answer that I gave to Senator Wong—and that is that there is a minimum salary level involved here, and people cannot go below that.

I should correct an answer that I gave. I believe I told the Senate earlier that the average figure for this salary was $60,000. I regret I made a mistake. I have reread my brief and $65,000 is the average salary for this visa.

The reason that people want to bring in skilled migrant workers from overseas is because of the shortages, and the reason it is done without labour market testing goes back to a report commissioned by Senator Bolkus, as the Labor minister for immigration, who, in consultation with the industry and the unions, agreed that labour market testing for key activities was unnecessary.

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

For labourers?

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

Perhaps what we will do is get some hearing provision for Senator Carr.

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, I am on my feet.