RE. SUNBURY SECESSION: CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE NAMED (Weekly, March 18)
■ With a clear majority of the Community Consultative Committee being Sunbury-biased, it’s clear the Local Government Minister has scant regard for the interests and opinions of the wider Hume community.
It is difficult to have confidence that the committee will give fair consideration to all views when it is unrepresentative of the breadth and diversity of people affected by the secession of Sunbury from Hume.
STUART VIA ONLINE
‘PLAIN CRAZY’ TO BOOST 457’S
■ The latest unemployment figures show a further 10,000 Australians lost their jobs last month, and more than 742,000 Australians are now out of work. Aggregate hours worked fell nearly 1 per cent – down 14 million hours.
In Victoria, the participation rate fell from 64.8 per cent to 64.5 cent, and our unemployment rate is 6.4 cent – the worst since January 2002. In Broadmeadows, unemployment has risen by about 25 per cent in the past six months from 10.3 per cent to 12.8 per cent.
Against this background, the federal government’s decision to allow employers to bring in unlimited numbers of foreign workers is a lunatic move which will cost Australian jobs and bring back the rorts that took place before the loophole was closed. It is plain crazy to increase the 457 visa program.
In 2009-10 there were 68,000 457 visas granted. Last year, the figure rose to over 126,000 temporary migrant worker visas.
The 457 visa program is a dagger at the heart of Australian workers, who end up working for less than decent wages’ and conditions or languishing indefinitely without any work at all.
KELVIN THOMSON MP FOR WILLS
‘GREEN ARMY’ VULNERABLE
■ The announcement that the new environmental workforce for 18-25-year-olds – the “green army” – will not be covered by any workers’ compensation scheme is extremely worrying for people who care about the consequences of workplace injuries.
Under usual work arrangements, employers are required to ensure their employees are protected by a workers’ compensation scheme and health and safety standards. We are very concerned that members of the “green army” will not be protected in the same way as other workers.
RACHAEL JAMES SENIOR COMCARE LAWYER, SLATER AND GORDON
