Senator PARRY (4:57 PM) —I think it is very important to clearly place on the record exactly what we are talking about. We are talking about bringing skilled workers into this country to fill a need, a void, a gap. The main reason is that this economy is running so well that we have a shortfall in skilled workers within our own country. We have an unemployment rate now of 4.8 per cent, the lowest in decades. Senator Carr indicated that he is a friend of the workers. If he were a friend of the workers and if the Labor Party were a friend of the workers, they would be supporting the government’s policies to keep such a low unemployment rate and the policies we put in place to achieve it in the first instance.

The 457 visas are for skilled overseas workers to enter Australia. They are not for any other purpose but to bring in skilled overseas workers. We have a dire need for overseas workers. The issue of exploitation that has just been raised by Senator Lundy is one that this government has taken seriously. Senator Lundy must at least have some confidence now with this government that, when someone exploits the system, in any field, in any endeavour—and in this endeavour—that person is prosecuted if they are caught.

Senator Lundy —If we raise it in parliament, something will happen.

Senator PARRY —If evidence is presented to the right authorities, action is taken. Action is always taken on the presentation of evidence. It is okay to raise speculative things, but when evidence is produced action is taken. It just shows how responsible this government is concerning the 457 visas.

There are some important issues in this debate. There has been talk about low wages. There is an absolute minimum wage that must be paid to anyone on a 457 visa, and we cannot go below that. The average wage for 457 class visas is $65,000 per annum. I do not call that a low wage, not by any stretch of the imagination. The minimum wage that must be paid, as was stated earlier, is $41,850. In regional areas, the wage cannot go below the award. It cannot go below agreed award wages. It just cannot do that. The talk of low wages is a furphy. It is a scare tactic aimed at trying to disrupt this government.

Senator Scullion —It’s a nonsense.

Senator PARRY —It is a nonsense. I wondered today, as I was listening to the debate, why this matter has been raised. We have 457-class visas which are filling a vital need. We have low unemployment. We have a skills shortage. I really think it has been raised out of jealousy. I think the Labor Party are jealous. We have done a tremendous job. It is something we thought about. It is something we introduced and it is filling a vital need. If we did not have this class of visa, there would be a lot of serious implications for our workforce, our productivity and our manufacturing ability.

Senator Boswell articulated very clearly some practical examples of the need for this visa class in the state of Queensland, and that could be replicated, I am sure, in other places around the country. I was very impressed to hear the sincerity of Senator Boswell’s comments. He has had grassroots contact with people who have indicated that meatworks and abattoirs would be closed if they did not have the provision of the 457 visa class. That is a serious implication. Do we want to let business and industry wind down because we cannot get people to work in these particular workplaces? The reason they cannot employ people in these workplaces and the reason they cannot attract people is that there is a demand for employment across this country.

Let me give you some statistics from my home state of Tasmania. This issue goes to training as well. We have had a boom in the state of Tasmania. There have been implications that there has been no training and that the training in the country is not good enough. Apart from the Australian technical colleges that this government has been proud to introduce—and they are on the ground in many parts of Australia—training has continued. We are filling a gap in the training needs in this country. Let me quote some statistics. In 2002 in Tasmania, 150 apprentice carpenter-joiners were going through the apprenticeship training program. In 2006, there are 700—that is a mammoth increase in the number of people training. Whilst we have this gap while people are training, we are filling this void through a proactive government response: the 457 visas are allowing industry and commerce to continue with business as usual. Without that response, we would not have business as usual.

If the Labor Party want to say that we should not be using 457 visas and that industry should be shut, go and tell the public that. We do not believe that. We believe we should be looking after every industry in this country. We will use every particular facility we can to do that, and 457 visas are just one of those things to assist in this cause. At least we are responsible and are ensuring that industry continues and does not lapse. I would not like to have to go to the owners of businesses and to the workers and the people of regional Australia and say: ‘I’m sorry, we can’t get any workers. The Labor Party don’t want us to bring in any skilled workers from outside this country, so your business will have to close.’ We are not going to do that. We have a very proactive approach to enable industry to continue. If we had the workers, I am sure employers would be employing local people within their towns and within their cities, but that is just not the case. We do not have the workers yet, but we will get them.

There are some other important issues that need to be clarified concerning the 457 visa program. Some great information has come out from the minister. Whilst I am talking about the minister, there is the suggestion that the minister is not on top of this. The minister has done a superb job. The minister has run this program despite adverse conditions and Labor’s commentary. When the facts come out and the myths are exposed, the fantastic job that the minister has been doing in her portfolio will be proven. I am so pleased we have a minister who has the courage to do these things and look after the industry of this country.

There have been some myths around this issue. The myth about wages is exactly that. To suggest that we are getting low-paid, unskilled workers into this country is an absolute nonsense. It is a great pay rate that we are introducing into this country for these workers. It has been repeated time and again that we need to understand some of the statistics—(Time expired)