457 visa restrictions won’t just hurt the tech industry

The tech industry reacted angrily last week to claims by Prime Minister Julia Gillard that the sector was the main abuser of 457 visas.

The Prime Minister said the skilled visa program is being abused as “a substitute for spreading important economic opportunity to Australian working people”.

The tech industry quickly hit back with Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes jumping to the sector’s defence alongside Mick Liubinskas, co-founder of Pollenizer, who described the Prime Minister’s comments as “crazy”.

But the Prime Minister’s inflammatory comments about the 457 visa system are not just hurting the tech industry.

Restricting access to highly skilled foreign professionals, and the innovation they bring, could harm productivity at the same time the government is trying to increase it.

There’s also the risk businesses may be forced to move offshore to access foreign skilled labour that they may increasingly find difficult to bring to Australia to aid their local workforce.

What’s more, the Prime Minister’s comments run the risk of damaging Australia’s reputation in Asia as a place to visit and do business.

CPA Australia head Alex Malley has warned the Prime Minister’s “apparently politically motivated focus on foreign workers on 457 temporary migration visas” threaten Australia’s integration with Asia and could end up costing Australian jobs.

The facts are that the number of 457 visas granted last year was up 6.6% on the previous year, but that’s hardly the flood gates opening on foreign workers.

The 457 visa system already gives Australian workers preference and those who abuse the system are prosecuted.

The Prime Minister’s crackdown may win her some votes in an election year but the damage her comments inflict to business is likely to go far beyond the tech industry.