Mr RANDALL (12:46 PM) —I am very pleased to make a contribution to the debate on the Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2010-2011 and the Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2010-2011. In the same vein as the previous two speakers, the issues I wish to raise are on migration. I spoke earlier in the House today and pointed out how we are dealing with probably the most disorganised and bad government since the Whitlam era. I am going to point out to this House today some examples of why this government is in such a mess. Not only is it in a mess financially and economically on things like the levy but it is in a mess on migration issues. As representatives, as we all are in this place, trying to represent people in our electorates and trying to do our job to help good, decent people wanting to come to this country, we are being thwarted by the dysfunctional, shambolic nature of the Labor Party’s reorganisation of their migration system. For example, since 2010 some of the changes in the ASCO codes to ANZSCO classifications mean a retrospective view of people that have been here on 457 visas, stranded here because of the retrospective changes made on issues such as eligibility of occupations, the IELTS tests on English and not taking into account the nuances of occupations et cetera. As a result we have a whole lot of people here with families, people who have sold up overseas to come here to try and make a contribution to Australia as skilled migrants, and they have been stranded because of the Labor Party’s retrospective application since they have been in government. They are hanging on by their fingernails now and they are still making a mess of their migration system.

One of the clearly and patently crazy and disturbing cases is a case in my electorate, where Vince and Teresa Borrello own a cheese company called Borrello Cheese, a very successful business set up by a couple of Italian migrants who have come here and set up a cheese business. It is a boutique cheese business and they sell bocconcinis around Perth to just about every outlet, because bocconcini is the flavour of the day along with other specialty cheeses. Vince was self-taught and he started up his cheese factory just off Thomas Road in Oakford in my electorate. He and his wife and his family are involved. The business has grown to such an extent that—how dare they?—they try to bring across a qualified and skilled cheese maker from Italy.

Mr Pelati, who they have tried to bring to Australia, is not only qualified but someone who can help and mentor those who are all self-taught in Vince’s cheese factory. That is all fine. He ticks all the boxes. If you think that this is a partisan thing, anyone on the other side, Vince is trying to get help from a former Labor member of parliament, Nick Catania, who is now the mayor of Vincent in Western Australia. Vince is throwing his hands up in the air about the application of the migration rules in this case with Mr Pelati. His qualifications are right and his English is right, not to mention the fact that he is mentoring and training those on the ground. I got contacted by Vince. Vince is an enthusiastic and energetic sort of person. He started yelling down the phone at me one day about the fact that Mr Pelati was going to be thrown out of the country. Why? He had ticked all the boxes, as I said, to do with qualifications. They had advertised throughout Australia for a cheese maker before they went to the huge expense of bringing someone and their family here. They had to pay all the transport, medical and set-up costs for him because he came on a 457 visa. Then they were told that he was going to be thrown out of the country.

When I got involved, the young case officer—I will not mention his name because he was probably only following instructions—had hit him with this letter saying, ‘Unless you deal with this, this man is going to be thrown out.’ So I went to a senior case officer, Mr Robert Hardy, who is very good. Robert drilled down very quickly to what the problem was. Everything was fine except for one thing. The problem was that the Labor Party, because of their exposure to the unions, do not like skilled workers coming here on 457 visas, so they make it as tough as they can.

Mr Neumann —They should join the union.

Mr RANDALL —That is stupid. I expect better from you. We know that every Labor member of parliament had to join a union to become a member of the Labor Party. And you are saying that the only way that a skilled worker from another country can advance is if he joins a union. Do not be so stupid. This bears out why this man is in trouble: it is because of your mentality, you cretin. Fancy saying that. I cannot believe that you would go down that track.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Ms AE Burke)—While I understand the passion, the member will withdraw that comment.

Mr RANDALL —I withdraw. At the end of the day, the issue here is that they have said that this company—for whatever reason, and I know that this is happening throughout Australia in other businesses—must pay one per cent of their 2009-10 wages, which in this case is $8,890. This is extortion at its best. They do not need to do this. But somehow the Labor Party, because of influence from the union, have said, ‘We’re going to put a hurdle in front of you, which is that you have to pay one per cent of your wages into a training levy.’

Ms Rishworth interjecting—

Mr RANDALL —I would appreciate a bit of support, Deputy Speaker.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —It is a more robust chamber, but I remind people that if they want to intervene they can rise and ask the member a question. Do not yell out across the chamber.

Mr RANDALL —You will have a quorum called on you when you are up—that is what will happen.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —I have made the point. While it is robust, the member for Kingston should remember that if people want to ask a question they can rise and ask a question of the member. We will not yell at each other across the chamber. The member for Canning has the call.

Mr RANDALL —Thank you, Deputy Speaker, for your support. The paying of this one per cent levy on wages is ridiculous. You will see why in a moment. Anyway, he was willing to pay this $8,890 over and above everything else that he has paid to get this cheese maker into Australia. What happened is that Mr Hardy came back to me and said, ‘We can probably get this through if he agrees to pay two per cent.’ So now we have nearly $18,000 that Vincent Borrello has got to pay. When I asked why it was two per cent, they did not have any good reason why. They just said that two per cent might get them out of jail on this issue. So who do they pay it to? Not the immigration department. No, you have to find a registered training organisation to pay your two per cent levy to—that $18,000. Begrudgingly—Vince is filthy about the fact that he has to pay this extra when he had been shown in writing that it is one per cent—he is going to pay it. His business is going well enough to pay two per cent. But he cannot believe this arbitrary hit on him. He then goes out to get a receipt from a registered training organisation after he pays them this two per cent levy. He cannot find a registered training organisation in Australia that does cheese makers. That is the problem. So Vince is still fishing around Australia trying to find a registered training organisation. They think they have found one in Melbourne that he can give the money to. Can you imagine what this registered training organisation in Melbourne is going to say? ‘Why in the hell are we getting a cheque like this from a cheese maker in Western Australia?’ Vince would reply, ‘Oh, it is because that is the extortion I have to pay to get this man into this country under the rules of the Labor Party.’ It is shambolic and it is ridiculous. At the moment he is being held to ransom by this government’s policies. This government’s policies are absolutely out of whack.

We hear a lot from the other side feigning their interest in humanitarian issues. I have a Mr Harati in my electorate, whose daughter, Ms Samira Harati, is stranded in Malaysia. It is a sad story. Mr Harati wants to go on a hunger strike out in front of my office on behalf of his daughter. Mr Harati became an enemy of the state in Iran and as a result he had to leave the country. He came here on a humanitarian visa. His daughter and her husband left Iran with him and they ended up in Malaysia, where they made an offshore application. The Haratis cannot return to Iran. She became pregnant whilst in Malaysia. Her husband absconded with their child back to Iran and left her stranded there. She cannot go back to Iran and she cannot come to Australia. She has no means of support in Malaysia. The Haratis spent much of their time and much of their money going to Malaysia to try to help their daughter. So where is the humanitarianism of this government? I have written to two ministers about the Harati case. No help—‘just get in the queue’. When they came to my office and I told them that the minister said, ‘Just get in the queue,’ Mr Harati then said to me, ‘Well, why don’t I just get on a boat. Why don’t I pay a people smuggler $20,000 and get on a boat because then I will get a visa.’ We know that, of the 10,000 people who have come to this country by boat in the last 12 months or more, all of them bar about 160 have been given a visa—160 out of 10,000 have been sent back. And here we are with Samira Harati stranded in Malaysia. Where is the humanitarianism from this government?

The migration policies of this government are absolutely skewed all over the place. I have a case of a Ms Thivanka Liyanage, a Sri Lankan resident, who is seeking a resident return visa. She was here and went to Murdoch University in Western Australia from where she graduated four years ago with a Bachelor of Commerce. She gained permanent Australian residency soon after that and remained in Australia for approximately six months before returning to Sri Lanka. Why? Because her father was involved in the civil war there. He was one of the special forces commanders. She was there to support her family through that conflict. She tried to return to Australia to re-ignite her residency and they have given her only a three-month visa—and her family is here. Talk about family reunions! It is just crazy. It is another one that has been put the minister and put on the too-hard shelf. To his credit, I had a meeting with the minister and he was very polite to me and said he would do what he could to help. But nothing has eventuated on all these cases that I am raising with you.

There are so many other issues to consider. How about Francesco, an Italian who came out here on a visa with a business that requires his specialist skills. They have changed the ASCO. He has his wife and children here—they go to school—and they want to make Australia their home. They have changed the ASCO codes so that you can no longer have restaurant managers in the codes. Where is the fairness in that for him?

Then there is Nono, a Portuguese man who is in the same position. He is trying to get support but hurdles have been put in front of him. He is a fantastic person but he will probably have to leave this country in about 12 months time because he does not fit the box of the Labor Party’s new policies on migration. I will never know why you are absolutely hell-bent on looking after the rights and the interests of those coming here unlawfully by boat but you ignore decent people who have applied properly through the right means.

I will conclude by mentioning that I caught a taxi in Perth the other day and the driver was a guy called Kenny, a black African from Zimbabwe. Kenny came out here as a person who was involved in the flour-milling industry. He had the skills. He is now actually driving a taxi, and I cannot understand why he would rather drive a taxi than be a skilled flour miller. He said that he is so frustrated because he knows so many people in Zimbabwe who have problems with the Zimbabwe regime and they are in queues—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Ms S Bird)—Order! The debate is suspended. If he so wishes, the member will have the right to continue for his remaining time when the debate is resumed.