Media Release

THE major parties have once again joined forces to vote down moves by Katter’s Australian Party to keep mining and other jobs for Australians instead of foreign workers.

After being thrown out of Question Time last month for his strident objections over 457 visa fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) foreign workers, KAP Federal Leader and Member for Kennedy Bob Katter tonight moved a vote in Parliament on his amendments the government’s Migration Amendment (Temporary Sponsored Visas) Bill 2013 to:

(a) expand to include skilled workers the requirement for jobs to be advertised for Australians first;
(b) cap the annual 457 visa intake at 6000; and
(c) establish a register of 457 visa sponsor employers, including their number of foreign workers and the positions occupied (like the United States model).

The major parties joined forces to vote against Australians being given priority for skilled jobs; whilst the amendments for a 457 visa employer register and cap on 457 visa workers did not even receive a seconder.

However, changes to the laws made by government following Mr Katter’s negotiations did result in:-
(a) the inclusion of Australian nurses, engineers and information technology workers being given priority for skilled jobs (by way of the ‘labour market testing’ job advertisements); and
(b) the inclusion of students and holiday-makers on temporary work visas who are already working in the agricultural industry being able to apply for the ‘labour market testing’ advertisements that will prioritise Australians.

“This will critically help our agricultural industries who rely on backpackers for seasonal work,” said Mr Katter following the passage of the laws in Parliament tonight.

“But, as always, we are acting like we need 457 visas, which we have never had in our history until the LNP introduced them in 1996.

“No, what they are actually talking about here is undermining our pay and conditions, and the Leader of the Nationals yesterday let the cat out of the bag when he said that the real problem here is that the base issues are the wages.

“He gave the wage figures from New Zealand, the United States and Australia, and he cited $8 an hour. The implication was clearly that we should be working here for $8 an hour.”

Mr Katter said it was intriguing that the LNP advocated for 457 visas but allowed only 38,000 a year, whilst the ALP – to their eternal shame as the supposed workers’ party –has brought in 125,000 a year.

“So why, suddenly, in the last 15 years, have we not had any nurses, any fitters, any miners?” said Mr Katter.

“If you say we cannot get people, well there would be some 50,000 First Australians across the north who would give their eye teeth to get a start and have a job in the mines.

“There’s some 1.3 million people in Australia seeking full-time employment – an adequate pool that can provide jobs enabling us to go on as we have in the last 100 years in Australia, providing our own workforce in these areas.”