Yabby sounds like a complete fool. Immigrants are aspirational too, they won't accept menial jobs for ever. I know from very real experience that the children of the 'slave'type immigrants almost never follow in their parents footsteps, and are strongly encouraged by parents to get a 'cushy'job. Aussie born labourers are even told by immigrant workers to get a better job!

As for the hardworking immigrant stereotype, many are good actors. They know they are being exploited, and work when the boss is watching over them and chit chat when the boss is gone.

Employers are too short sighted to give a damn, and should never determine immigration policy.

Well Angelo, its quite simple. If Aussies don't want the jobs,
they won't let us bring in workers either, perhaps we are best
to simply get more boats, ship the whole lot offshore to get
processed. Simple really :) Just don't hold us back, whilst
we create export $, so that you can live your cushy lifestyles
and buy your plasma screens etc. There are good reasons
why the Aussie $ is not yet the Aussie peso, agriculture is
one of them. If we relied on cities, we would be in deep doodoo
and Keating would have been right about his banana republic.

Boy, are you right on the money Angelo! (In the Anglo/Celtic world your name would be "Evan", much the same, "the spreader of good news, or the messenger", in loose translation.) Like so many, Yabby wants an answer right NOW, ON THE SPOT! While there is much that he may justifiably be unhappy about, he is oh so typical of those who have rushed up to the boat deck only when the list of the ship of State made it uncomfortable on his ankles! In command of you, or under you command Angelo, Strength and Honour! Morituri te salutamis!

Yabby,
I am against bringing in imported workers, even on short term visas.

The mining industry found long ago that to attract good workers they had to pay good wages, and not all mine jobs are pleasant.

I think other industriea have not come to grips with paying higher wages. If they want workers they will have to pay enough to attract them. Have a look at the tinned fruit at your supermarket. I could only find two that are still made in Australia. (Golden Circle and Goulburn Valley). Everything else, including Coles brand was imported.

While ever the two major political parties continue along the globalism path, more and more will be imported. I don't like it at all, but that is reality. If local industries cannot afford good wages for our workers they will go out of business.

The only other avenue for those industries that employ workers to do arduous or unpleasant work is to get the government to implement tax concessions to make the work more attractive. I stated before that workers stopped picking fruit when they had to pay tax for their very hard work.

I shudder to think what will happen here if for some reason our shipping lanes are cut. Like China and Tiawan thowing rocks at each other. Our politicians of a bygone era, that worked for us to become self sufficient has had all their hard work destroyed by an idoelodgical theory of globalism that pretends we will all live happily ever after.

Banjo, you are free to be against using labour on short term
visas, but you have yet to state one good, valid reason.

The mining industry can pay higher wages, as in that field
Australia has a comparative advantage and mining can be
highly mechanised. 200 tonne dump trucks etc. Thats harder
to do in the meat industry. If the cost of labour is higher
then the carcass is worth on world markets, in the end
you won't have an industry.

Lets get real, if 50 Grand a year can't attract unskilled
labour to go and work in regional WA, then we have a
major problem. Then people simply have such cushy lifestyles
where they are, that they don't need the work.

Ok fair enough, but WA agriculture is by any benchmark
some of the most efficient farming in the world. It
also generates wealth for the rest of the country,
those living cushy lifestyles. If you want to sink
it by unreasonable laws, long term all those who
now have a cushy lifestyle will pay a heavy price.

We have few enough world competitive industries in
this country, just look at our trade balance. So
don't hold up those who do create the wealth and bring
it home.

The global economy is not going to go away, because
you wish it would. Meantime Aus has to pay its bills,
something which we are still not doing.

The meat industry, by the very nature of changing
climate, needs to be able to change according to
that climate. If it can't, we get exactly what
we have over East right now, farmers with their
hands out for drought help. Thats going to cost
you money in the end.

Importing labour, if Aussies don't want the jobs
at 50k, makes sense for the workers, makes sense for
the farmers, makes sense for the welfare of animals.
It also makes sense for the Australian economy
and taxpayers. Politics is all thats holding
it up, but few are intelligent enough to see the
big picture.

Yabby,
Whilst I agree with some of the things you say, i do not agree that workers need to be imported.

The wages paid to imported workers mainly go out of the country. I maintain that all the wages paid would be better if kept in Australia. Even if no tax is paid on them in the first instance.

According to other posts here, nothing like $50000 is paid to agricultural workers and tax and accomadation,etc.has to come from that. I don't care if the jobs go to black or white Australians.

I do not know what abattoir workers get at present, but they have a reputation for paying well. The pay and conditions will just have to be better.

Also the jobless rate is far higher than is shown, as alittle part time workers are shown as employed.

This is not a contest between WA and other states. There are mining operations here that compete for available labour. If the bottom falls out of minerals then the mines will shut down. Can you see the miners accepting lower wages?

If agriculture is prepared to pay decent wages, or the workers get tax incentives and better conditions, they will get the labour they need. Employers need to find other ways of cutting costs.