Australian workers should be offered jobs first: Greens

28/05/2012 - Greens leader Christine Milne says Australians should always be given first preference over foreign workers.

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Senator Milne was commenting on the Gillard government's skilled migration plan, announced on Friday, that will allow mining magnate Gina Rinehart to bring in 1700 foreign workers.

The Greens leader said the government should invest in training local workers rather than looking overseas for skilled labour.

"We should be offering the jobs to Australians first," she told Sky News on Sunday.

"We should be training Australian people to take up those jobs."

Senator Milne said offering temporary visas to overseas workers may be appropriate in some circumstances but first preference should always be giving to Australians.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Saturday the government's skilled migration plan would ensure that no foreign worker would take an Australian job in the mining sector.

A "jobs board" would be created that would give Australian workers information about what jobs were available in the resources sector, Gillard said.

Source: AAP

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Have your say...

Matt | 28/05/2012 12:05 1

Your stupid policies are killing the Australian jobs we have.

Just a worker | 29/05/2012 08:59 2

Milne should stick to what she knows about the most...which is not much, but I guess plants trees and kissing butt would be close to the mark. This hardly qualifies her to comment on the generation of jobs in Australia..The Green / Labor policies have already put the sword to 10s of thousands of jobs in Australia already...what a bunch of over educated, know it all morons they are !

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