AUSTRALIA GOOD NEWS FOR FOREIGN WORKERS AS GOVT MAJOR DECISION TO REPEAL LAW REQUIRING ALL FOREIGN WORKERS TO OBTAIN 457 VISAS IN OFFSHORE GAS AND OIL SECTOR BY THE END OF JUNE 2014 AFTER THE COURT RULED THAT OFFSHORE SECTOR IS NOT A MIGRATION ZONE AS PER MIGRATION ACT BUT UNION WORRIES ARE THAT AUSTRALIAN WORKERS WILL NOT GET THE JOBS IN FUTURE PROJECTS A federal Labor MP claims moves to repeal legislation requiring all foreign resources workers to obtain a 457 visa will deny Australians jobs in the expanding offshore gas and oil sector. The Federal Government is planning to repeal laws made by Labor which are due to come into effect at the end of June. The federal Labor member for Perth, Alannah MacTiernan, said without the laws mandating 457 visas, Australian workers will simply be sidelined on future projects. The decision to change the legislation so that not even a 457 visa would be required to employ an overseas workers on our oil and gas industry is very short-sighted, she said. The laws were passed last year to close what Labor said were inconsistencies exposed by a federal court case. The vast majority of jobs in the gas industry in the future will be offshore, and there is no guarantee that Australians will have even a chance at getting this work. In Allseas Constructions SA v Minister for Immigration, the federal court found that two ships working in Australias resources sector did not meet the definition of a resources installation. As a result, the foreign workers on board were were not considered to be in the migration zone, as defined in the Migration Act, and were not required to have a visa. Australian unions expressed deep concerns about the implications of the case, arguing it would pave the way for wider use of foreign workers on reduced pay and conditions. Labor moved to close what it saw was a loophole by amending the Migration Act, changes the Abbott Government wants to repeal before they come into force. Workers will have fewer opportunities in oil and gas A regulatory impact statement prepared by the Government said the oil and gas operations will grow faster than other areas of the resources sector, with the number of offshore workers climbing from 475,000 to 766,000 by 2018. Ms MacTiernan said without the protection of the existing legislation, workers will have few opportunities in a growing sector. The vast majority of jobs in the gas industry in the future will be offshore, and there is no guarantee that Australians will have even a chance at getting this work, she said. But the regulatory impact statement also quoted a key industry organisation expressing deep concerns about the Labor-initiated legislation. It cited comments from the Australian Mines and Metals Association characterising Labors legislation as a further suffocating regulatory burden which would place untenable cost pressures on the resource industry.
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 03:02:41 +0000
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