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October 10, 2011 – Prioritize the Aussie workers first! According to Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Australian workers, not migrants, should be given priority in filling up work in Australia requirements, even if they still need to be trained or relocated.

A day before the jobs forum in Canberra, Ms. Gillard stated that the government must help retrained workers who were retrenched from steelworks as they could be trained for mining jobs rather that depending on skilled migrants through Australia immigration fly-in/fly-out programs.

Ms. Gillard stated that the Government is determined to ensure that before skilled migrants under Australian work visa are brought in, the unemployed are trained to meet the demand for jobs in Western Australia’s mines.

In 2009, the skilled migration intake has been streamlined to only 115,000 by the Australian government. However, according to budget Treasurer Wayne Swan, there is a provision in the May budget for increase in the program in regions of need.

Moreover, in 2012, 16,000 extra migrants are expected to be flown in for their skills, as it has been reported that local skills could not meet demand, as in mining. However, Ms. Gillard insisted that Australian workers will still take precedence and be prioritized over migrants.

For his part, Tertiary Education Minister Chris Evans said that a big Australia will only be accepted by Australians if they will be given first priority on the high-skill jobs and the training that is required to put them in the running for those jobs.

In the National Press Club, Minister Evans stated that sensible migration programs would be accepted by Australians only if they think they are getting the first bite.

Moreover, Minister Evans stated that in order for the Australians to be open for a debate about top-up migration, the training and skilling effort should be at a very high level.

Made during a National Skills Week presentation late last month, Minister Evans’s comments preceded yesterday’s Australian Council of Trade Union’s demand that the government limit the use of temporary business immigration to Australia visas to those labor categories where there is a clear and ongoing shortage of appropriately-skilled workers.

according to ACTU’s ‘Union Action Plan for Jobs’, as a priority, the government should conduct an audit to determine if the numbers of 457 immigration Australia visas being issued are justified by reference to present labor market conditions.

However, Minister Evans warned against reducing skilled Australia migration numbers as this could affect pace of work at the industry, noting jobs are “moving north and west” and there are some areas which are “doing it tough”.

“We are in a strong economy with low unemployment but those challenges of a patchwork economy are serious and talking about them and working with the key parties is what we are doing today.”

source:
theaustralian.com.au