Page 2739 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 12 August 2015
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The benefits to Australia were direct. The workforce in the Pilbara, where most iron ore is mined, jumped from 10,000—
(Time expired.)
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella—Minister for Planning, Minister for Roads and Parking, Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations, Minister for Children and Young People and Minister for Ageing) (3.33): The government will not be supporting Mr Smyth’s motion basically because it is incorrect in its terminology. Mr Smyth’s motion says that this Assembly condemns the CFMEU for their recent anti-Chinese media campaign. It is not an anti-Chinese campaign. It is an anti-federal government campaign and their free trade agreement. The focus of the CFMEU’s campaign is jobs for Australia. And rightly so! If you look at some of the quotes from the people that Mr Smyth has been quoting, the ACTU’s website for example says about the federal government’s fact sheet:
The fact sheet states that—
under the deal—
Chinese companies can bring in workers for projects of $150 million or more under the new labour agreements called Investment Facilitation Agreements (IFAs) which allow for so-called ‘increased labour flexibility’.
And they can bring Chinese workers to Australia without even advertising for that work locally. This is why the union movement is upset about the campaign for the free trade agreement signed by the federal government. The ACTU’s website says:
Enterprise Migration Agreements were set up for projects of more than $2 billion with more than 1,500 workers.
The federal government indicates it will do that with the Chinese free trade agreement as well. The ACTU’s website says:
The fact sheet states that the free trade agreement will also “guarantee access” to Chinese citizens who are:
• intra-corporate transferees and independent executives for up to four years,
• contractual service suppliers for up to four years
• installers in services for up to three months …
The ACTU website suggests:
The Abbott government needs to explain exactly what ‘guaranteed access’ means, how many workers it will apply to, and exactly which jobs it will include.
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