Media Release

23 May 2018: KAP Leader and Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter questioned the Prime Minister yesterday during Question Time on how he intends to fix the inundation of short-term visa holders after an ACTU report revealed there are currently 1.4 million temporary visa workers in Australia – proposing that nearly half of Australia’s workforce will be casualised in the near future.
Mr Katter asked:
To the Prime Minister
Is the PM aware there are 1.4 million ‘temporary visa’ workers in Australia – the highest in the OECD?
In fact, 3.6m workers – half the entire Australian workforce – was born overseas.
The threat of deportation renders foreign workers docile, supine and super cheap, ensuring they – not Australians – get the jobs.
Whilst imported cultural and spiritual values inundate us, still 600,000 people pour into Australia each year. They seek the 200,000 new jobs already sought by over 200,000 school-leavers.
PM, you inherited the situation from Labor, but will you fix it?
The Prime Minister delivered a typical nonchalant response referencing the LNP’s successful track record of stopping the boats, but failing to address the crux of the issue – that more temporary visas will equal fewer jobs and will push more Australians than ever before onto welfare.
Mr Katter said, “The Prime Minister’s response focused on migration, and he quite rightly stopped the boat people and they should be highly praised for that.
“But the question was not about migrants it was about the 200,000 jobs available each year to over 200,000 school-leavers who battle 630,000 temporary visa holders for employment.
“A ‘temporary visa holder’ normally means they will stay in Australia for forever given the vast bulk of those visas will enable them to stay for eight years, but there is just no feasible means of finding where they are at the end of that timeframe. Just look at those athletes that absconded at the Commonwealth Games – you’ll never find them.
“Welfare is exploding. Minister Porter himself said that welfare will blow from 25% of the budget to 50% of the budget over the next ten years – so you bring all these people in and in the meantime Australians are being forced onto welfare.
“We will make sure this issue stays front of mind in the Parliament because we are talking about our jobs, for Australians.
“And the people we are talking about here are supine, docile and super-cheap so they are always going to get the job over Australians and now with this Report, we have the proof.”
##ENDS##
*For a copy of the audio/visual of Mr Katter’s question, please contact 0418 840 243.