06-August-2008
Portfolio Media Releases, Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Workplace Relations
Topics: Government’s proposed ‘guest worker’ scheme, Kevin Rudd’s trip to China, the Olympics, human rights, Paul Keating.
KIERAN GILBERT: Now on PM Agenda, I spoke to the Shadow Foreign Minister, Andrew Robb, earlier in the day and I began by asking him about the idea of accepting guest workers from our Pacific neighbours with the government expected to announce a trial shortly.
ANDREW ROBB: Our problem is that we don’t know what is proposed. We’ve heard just the other day that the Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, advised that the Prime Minister would announce a program at the Pacific Island’s forum towards the end of the month.
There’s been absolutely no detail or discussion or debate. There are some really substantive issue. There are some clear positives but also some clear negatives.
We want to know the detail before we commit ourselves and, more importantly, the Australian people would want to know the details before they commit themselves to what is and would be, a very fundamental change to our immigration and labour laws.
KIERAN GILBERT: But you did say, and you’ve said before, you said it in June this year, that you’ve witnessed among the farming sector, and tourism, hospitality areas in particular some serious shortages and there are some skills that can be conferred to a lot of young people in the Pacific nations.
So you have been … you have argued in the past the strong positives in relation to such a scheme.
ANDREW ROBB: I can see the reasons why we should look at it. And that is why we have said consistently we would look at the results of the New Zealand pilot because there are skills needs in rural areas of Australia. There are a lot of unemployed in many of the countries in the region.
But there are issues we need to look at. We have not heard any detail about the results of the New Zealand pilot. The government announced another 134,000 people in Australia going on the unemployment list over the next twelve months. That adds to the 500,000 we already have. These are the sorts of issues that need to be discussed.
Just what will be Indonesia’s attitude if this leads to only other countries being able to send their young people and not Indonesia, and not The Philippines and not Malaysia.
As a country we have run a non-discriminatory immigration programme for decades. Now, if this one is going to just take people from certain countries, that’s a fundamental change to our immigration programme. And we should have a public discussion and not just have the Prime Minister announce, in Nuie later this month, a fait accompli before there has been absolutely any discussion take place in Australia.
KIERAN GILBERT: The Immigration minister says its going to be… he said it in the last day or so, that the focus is very much the South Pacific and as a trial. So it looks very clearly that the government is going for a pilot scheme as well. Isn’t that the best way to engage in such discussion to run the trial and see how it works.
ANDREW ROBB: Well again, what’s involved in the trial? I think it would be of interest to people.
But secondly, one of the major conclusions that I observed out of the New Zealand pilot is that once a pilot was in place, it would almost be impossible to dismantle it.
Once the Pacific Islands have gotten use to sending down young people it would be very difficult to turn around and say we’re going to turn it off.
If we are going to debate this issue it should be before we make major commitments - not afterwards.
At the very least, what we are saying is, if the government has done a lot of work, if it is at a very close stage to be making an announcement, why not allow the Australian people into the detail of that announcement, into the arguments for and against, so that if it goes ahead there is strong public support and people don’t feel that this scheme has been snuck in through the back door, that the debate’s been hijacked, that they’ve had no opportunity to express a point of view.
KIERAN GILBERT: Well there’s certainly been a few points of view expressed in your party room, as you know. Your National Party colleagues have been arguing vigorously for such a guest worker scheme given the shortages, the working shortages, that they have in so many sectors.
ANDREW ROBB: That may prevail. My point’s not to be for or against it. We have got a whole range of views that have been put and, of course, I’m as conscious as anyone of some of the labour shortages in Australia.
But we are talking about bringing in large numbers; thousands and thousands of unskilled, unemployed young people.
What provisions have been made to make sure we don’t get bad elements from camps and settlements around some of the capital cities?
Those things may well have been though of. We’d just like to know what the government has done. Whether all the issues have been ticked off? Whether this has been properly assesses?
At the very least the Australian community and the Opposition should have the opportunity to see what thought processes the government has been through , what detail it has considered, what the results of the New Zealand trial are - all of these issues so that we can make a decision, whatever that might be, which then has the support, the strong support of the community.
KIERAN GILBERT: OK, in terms of, let’s just change tact. We’re running out of time unfortunately but in terms of the Beijing Olympics, the human rights concerns . The Prime Minister says he’s going to raise them there again with the Chinese leadership. Hard to be too critical, isn’t it, of Mr Rudd given he’s been so vocal on this? He was in Beijing earlier in the year and he’s going to again.
ANDREW ROBB: I think the Prime Minister should not feel constrained. He said he will raise it, he shouldn’t feel constrained about raising the issue. There certainly are continuing human rights issues.
But I do think, also, that the primary focus of the next week or two is about celebrating the great spirit of the Olympics; the excellence and the commitment of so many young people from around the world.
It is an occasion, sure its being hosted in China, but it is a world event. A world event that does bring countries together in a peaceful way and I think that’s a really important part of having Australia represented at a political level in China for these Olympics.
KIERAN GILBERT: Just finally, what do the Liberals think when they see the sort of spray dished out by Paul Keating on Peter Costello calling him a clodhopper, a nong, a slow actin dope? What do the Liberals think?
ANDREW ROBB: More in sadness then anger, I think. Bit pathetic really. Some people ought to hang up their boots and get on with life and, I think, Paul Keating should think about that himself.
KIERAN GILBERT: Well there’s a return of serve. Andrew Robb appreciate your time today, thanks.
ANDREW ROBB: Good on you. Thanks Kieran.
Media Contact: Stuart Eaton, 0433 298 620