O'Connor: 457 reforms are necessary

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Created on Thursday, 11 April 2013 15:43

Written by Editorial staff

Brendan O'Connor has defended the Gillard government's intended reforms of temporary skilled 457 immigration visas during an interview with ABC 774 in Melbourne.

The immigration minister was forced to answer a number of uncomfortable questions regarding border policy and boat arrivals before the discussion turned to 457s.

Radio presenter Jon Faine cited examples of alleged rorting of the scheme, claiming there had been instances where people were only allowed to apply for jobs if they were on temporary skilled visas.

"What's happening too often is some employers, not the majority, but some employers are using this scheme improperly, which is unfair to the applicant, unfair to those local workers who are missing out," Mr O'Connor replied.

"Any advertisements that are suggesting you can say 457 applicants only is offending the current arrangements, but we need stronger laws, greater levels of oversight and protection."

However, the government's stance has been refuted by the Opposition and business leaders, who claim the number of prosecutions for scamming the system are extremely low.

Innes Willox, chief executive officer of the Australian Industry Group, said there is a legitimate risk of "unfairly demonising" companies that take on workers through the 457 scheme.

Last month, Mr Willox stated: "This debate should be paused to allow some facts to be injected. No systemic rorting of the system has been uncovered. Only three companies have been prosecuted for misusing the system since 2009."

Despite this, Mr O'Connor described the 457 scheme as an inherited problem, adding that it was the government's intention to ensure leaks are plugged.

It is important that the system is only used for temporary skilled labour, with Australian citizens and permanent residents getting the first chance at jobs in their local areas, he added.

According to the minister, the Victorian government is asking for a regional migration agreement that could result in a spike in 457 applications, despite cutting TAFE funding in Geelong that may see young people receiving less skills training.

Mr Willox, writing in the Herald Sun, instead argued that the scheme is helping businesses to fill vital gaps in their organisations, which if left unaddressed could cause them to lose contracts to overseas firms.

"The value of the 457 program is the agility it gives employers to meet shortages where they occur," he stated.

It is a myth that employers are using the scheme to systematically drive down wages by hiring cheap labour, the CEO added.