- Turnbull to abolish 457 immigration visas
- Restaurants say 457 visas a key to success
- 'Spin over substance,' unions say
- Comment: The big hole in Turnbull's plan
The impression some will take from Malcolm Turnbull's surprise "abolition" of 457 visas, and his jingoistic "Aussies first" rhetoric justifying it, is that the nation really is under siege by marauding foreigners.
More BusinessDay Videos
- Video duration
- 01:30
457 visas: PM's Australia-first rhetoric
457 visas: PM's Australia-first rhetoric
The decision to abolish 457 temporary work visas is presented by Malcolm Turnbull as putting the interests of Australians first.
Up Next
Michael Pascoe: Building the future
- Video duration
- 01:54
- Video duration
- 01:54
Michael Pascoe: Building the future
Michael Pascoe: Building the future
Australiaâs spending on road and rail is picking up the slack from housing construction. Michael Pascoe comments.
Up Next
Turnbull talks tough on gas
- Video duration
- 01:02
- Video duration
- 01:02
Turnbull talks tough on gas
Turnbull talks tough on gas
Ahead of a meeting with suppliers, Malcolm Turnbull says it's essential businesses and families have access to reliable and affordable gas,
Up Next
Insurance company was 'filming my children'
- Video duration
- 02:21
- Video duration
- 02:21
Insurance company was 'filming my ...
Insurance company was 'filming my children'
Former police officer Adam Watts details the lengths his insurance company went to deny him his workers compensation after being medically discharged from the force.
Up Next
There's no housing bubble ... in some places
- Video duration
- 01:46
- Video duration
- 01:46
There's no housing bubble ... in some ...
There's no housing bubble ... in some places
No, Australia isn't suffering a housing bubble. Sydney and to a lesser extent Melbourne might be, but the whole nation is starting to pay the price for it.
Up Next
What if inflation rises and wages don't?
- Video duration
- 01:58
- Video duration
- 01:58
What if inflation rises and wages don't?
What if inflation rises and wages don't?
Australia has more economic challenges than just Sydney and Melbourne housing prices, for example wages growth is stubbornly low and so is inflation. Michael Pascoe comments.
Up Next
Internet's 'undisputed fitness queen' is... an Aussie
- Video duration
- 00:44
- Video duration
- 00:44
Internet's 'undisputed fitness queen' ...
Internet's 'undisputed fitness queen' is... an Aussie
In it's inaugural list of industry influencers, Forbes names Adelaideâs Kayla Itsines as the worldâs most influential fitness identity.
457 visas: PM's Australia-first rhetoric
The decision to abolish 457 temporary work visas is presented by Malcolm Turnbull as putting the interests of Australians first.
Others will see a government succumbing to Hansonism and that, rhetorically at least, Turnbull has darted for the panic room of Australian politics – the nativist refuge of a little Australia.
That this is "press release politics" is proved by the fact the details – such as they are available – tell a more nuanced story than that imparted by the bombshell headline. If the idea was merely to tighten the skilled migration criteria and toughen its tests, then why change the name? The answer is self-evident: to maximise the political impact.
Related Content
In any event, the two dimensions - the political and policy - are not mutually exclusive, because the scheme, as configured, is far from perfect.
Still, it was the politics that drove this action now as Turnbull was bleeding support, gored by a populist Bill Shorten in his left flank and by Pauline Hanson's openly xenophobic One Nation on his Nationals party right.
It was John Howard who introduced the 457 skilled migration visa class to increase the labour supply and, crucially, to contain wage pressures.
It worked too, but as the greatest resources boom in our history increasingly sucked trades from manufacturing, construction and other sectors, non-mining sectors faced their own shortages and the pressure for a wider array of importable occupations grew to 650.
Turnbull is right when he invokes Howard's formula that public confidence in the immigration system is a foundation of multicultural success. And he's correct when he concludes that public confidence has been on the slide because of this program's abuse and mismanagement – although this announcement will probably hasten that decline in confidence, and is an admission of departmental failure.
With unemployment running officially at 5.9 per cent and underemployment widespread, people do need to believe the skilled-labour program is reasonable and appropriately targeted, and that it is being rigorously administered. The abuse of 457 class visas by some employers and their use for what are essentially unskilled or low-skilled jobs, such as burger-flipping, have not helped.
But as the US simultaneously moves to curtail foreign workers, the sense of a corresponding trend in Australia is palpable.
More evidence of the Trump effect.
68 comments
Comment are now closed