Moratorium needed on foreign workers

15 NOVEMBER 2016: I wrote to the Prime Minister this morning, calling for a complete ban on 457 visas being issued for jobs located in Central and North Queensland. I also wrote to the Deputy Prime Minister and the ministers for Employment and Immigration, requesting a moratorium on 457s in the region hardest hit by the mining downturn.The explosion of 457 workers that we saw under the Labor Government, which peaked in 2012, saw many foreigners come to the region to take up jobs and many of those workers remain. This has caused considerable resentment and public backlash in a community where Australian workers have lost jobs and cannot find new ones. The Federal Government needs to send a clear message to the Central and North Queensland community that Australian jobs must go to Australian workers. A moratorium on 457 visas for jobs located in Central and North Queensland would send that message and give the community confidence that the Federal Government was making their best interests a priority.The region has experienced a major economic downturn, with thousands of people losing jobs and leaving the region. The unemployment rate in Central and North Queensland is higher than, and in some cases much higher than, the national average. Anecdotally, I am told the underemployment rate for the region is also well and truly above the national average. High unemployment levels have had a devastating impact on the local business community and the loss of population as people have been forced to leave has only exacerbated the problem.It is important to ensure Australian workers are given a priority for jobs as the economy recovers. The region is showing early signs of economic recovery, with some mines reopening and new ones planned, in particular, Adani’s Carmichael Coal Project. Given the wealth of appropriately skilled and experienced workers remaining in Central and North Queensland and the workers who would be willing to return to the region, there should be no need to look offshore for workers for any industry, in particular the mining industry and the mining services industry.