Media Release

KAP Leader and Federal Member for Kennedy today suspended standing orders in Parliament to prevent Telstra jobs from being shipped offshore.

But Mr Katter said the motion to bring on the Telecommunications Amendment (Protecting Local Workers) Bill 2013, which he co-sponsored, was “cold-bloodedly” voted down by both major parties, which would now allow the corporate giant to send a raft of quality Australian jobs offshore.

“Everybody knows what’s going on – it’s staring at them right in the face when they open the paper each morning,” said Mr Katter.

“We had a proposal before the House that was cold-bloodedly voted against, condemning another 400 jobs overseas.”

The move followed reports that some 800 jobs in a Telstra sister company, which produces telephone directory information such as the White Pages, were likely to be cut before September, with 400 of these jobs being offshored to countries paying wages of just a few dollars a day.

It follows the axing of about 1000 local jobs in the past 2.5 years by Telstra, despite announcing record billion-dollar profits.

“These companies are profiting at the expense of Australian jobs, which by being shipped offshore is akin to importing cheap labour, ultimately undermining our nation’s hard-fought award wages and working conditions.”

Mr Katter further highlighted to the Parliament the exodus of Aussie jobs in recent weeks.

“Thanks to the policies of successive governments, there have been some 4000 jobs lost in the last seven weeks across the manufacturing and food processing industries,” he said.

“It must be obvious that manufacturing and food processing in this country are simply closing down and that agriculture is in the most desperate straits.

“Holden has put off 500 people in Adelaide and Ford has announced 1200 jobs to go.

“I would like to know what jobs we will have left in Australia,” Mr Katter concluded.