Liberal Party immigration spokesman Scott Morrison

Extremism is becoming more evident in Australian politics, particularly on the conservative side.

Seduced by the populous appeal of casual racism, the opposition last week sought to amplify an alleged sexual assault case into a campaign to implicate all asylum seekers of wrongdoing.

As a result, we heard two senior members of the Liberal Party take aim at asylum seekers in a way that would make the fascist British National Party blush.

The comments – by opposition immigration spokesperson Scott Morrison and Tasmanian Senator Eric Abetz – followed the arrest of a man in Sydney last week.

The Sri Lankan man, Daxchan Selvarajah, was arrested and charged with assault with an act of indecency after an alleged incident at Macquarie University’s student accommodation. His lawyer says the accused man intends to defend the charges.

Mr Selvarajah is a 21-year-old asylum seeker on a bridging visa.

Mr Morrison called for an immediate suspension of asylum seekers being released into the community until protocols are introduced to notify and consult police before people are released into the community.

He also said neighbours should similarly be warned if there were asylum seekers on bridging visas living nearby.

In an interview with Sky News, he said people should be alerted “for the same reason that you would want to know any decision of a government that’s going to impact potentially on the status of your living conditions or your residential environment. I would’ve thought that is just a matter of simple courtesy”.

The clear implication – enthusiastically embraced by Australia’s seemingly ever-growing battalion of radio shock jocks and conservative newspaper columnists – is that having asylum seekers living near you puts you at some risk. There is cause to be afraid.

Mr Morrison’s comments prompted Senator Abetz to weigh in. He liked the idea that neighbours be told that there were asylum seekers or refugees moving into the neighbourhood.

“I would have thought that it would be a good idea to say that somebody’s moving next door to you, they might not be able to have all the English language skills you might have normally have expected or they come from a traumatised background,” Senator Abetz said.

When asked if a system should be put in place for asylum seekers that resembled the treatment of known sexual offenders, in particular paedophiles, he replied: “I wouldn’t put the two (paedophiles and asylum seekers) in the same category, necessarily.”

His staff later deleted the word “necessarily” from the online transcript of his comments.

These sorts of remarks would not be acceptable in mainstream politics in Ireland, Britain or the United States. They would fall into the category of extremism like the British National Party or The Tea Party.

In Ireland, meanwhile, the recently released European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) monitoring report identified ongoing problems with the treatment of both immigrants and Travellers.

According to the report, the human rights body said it was “aware of claims that many non-Irish nationals were subjected to police stops and required to produce identity documents, which in practice can result in racist incidents and the profiling of individuals on the basis of their colour”.

This sounds disturbingly close to what is being advocated in Australia – not by extreme anti-immigrant groups, but by senior members of the most popular mainstream political party, which, by the end of September, looks certain to take government.

Extremism should have no place in democratic government.  But with a diminished and conservatively dominated mainstream Australian press unable or unwilling to confront extremist views, intolerance, fear and loathing against minorities is bound to flourish.

The cost of a working holiday visa has risen to $365.

The cost of a number of Australian visas rose yesterday.

The charges represent an increase of between 25 to 33 per cent for some popular visas.

The government hopes the increased price of visas will reap $163m by the end of the financial year.

The price rises were announced as the part of the government’s mid-year economic and fiscal outlook in October 2012.

The cost of the popular working holiday visa is now $365.

Sponsorship visas, or ’457s’, as the four-year working visas are often known, now cost $455.

The price of partner visas also rose on January 1, with applications made in Australia rising from just over $3,000 to $3,975.

Partner applications lodged outside of Australia have risen in price to $2,680, as has the prospective marriage visa.

Full details of the fees and charges can be found here.

NSW Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner.

Changes to the New South Wales nominated skilled occupation list will make it simpler for prospective migrants to secure a nomination from the state, according to Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner.

The state launched the NSW Strategy for Business Migration and Attracting International Students in March to boost the state’s share of skilled migrants.

“The NSW government wants to make it simpler for skilled migrants to come to NSW,” Mr Stoner said.

“Eligible applicants can now choose to locate anywhere in the state.

“We’ve also removed additional thresholds for nomination with regard to English language skills or work experience above that required by the Federal Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).

“It’s a more streamlined approach to help put NSW front of mind for skilled migrants considering Australia.”

On the previous list, most occupations required a minimum three years’ work experience, but on the updated version there is no criteria for work experience on many roles, though there are some exceptions.

Those in healthcare, engineering, education and trades industries will welcome the news they are free to live and work anywhere in the state, whereas previously they could only apply for a role in regional NSW.

Skilled workers in the finance, science, health and tourism industries will also be eligible for nomination.

Mr Stoner said the state had been allocated a record number of nominations which meant more opportunities for migrants.

“As part of our focus on boosting NSW share of skilled migrant intake, the NSW government successfully requested that the Commonwealth double our nominations this financial year from 1,300 to 2,600.”

Mr Stoner said there were a number of other immigration options available that were administered by DIAC, including skilled independent, family and humanitarian streams, where visas were issued to applicants who live or planned to live in NSW.

“The NSW government wants to encourage more applicants from Ireland and from around the world with the skills, experience and qualifications we need to better position our economy for growth,” Mr Stoner said.

Villawood Detention Centre.

An Irishman’s effort to rescue a woman who was being attacked have landed him in immigration detention.

The Irish Independent reports that police discovered that the Belfast man was living in Australia illegally after he had contacted them to report the assault on the woman.

Brian O’Boyle, 35,was hospitalised following the intervention.

“I realised I knew one of the girls and I was going to help her when I was blindsided – I didn’t even see it coming,” he told the Irish Sun.

“The guy hit me from the side – he smashed my cheekbone in half and shattered my eye socket.

“I managed to get close to home, but then collapsed.

“I had called my fiancée and she found me on the street.”

The next day he went to the local police station to make a statement.

When police checked Mr O’Boyle’s details, they found he had no valid visa and arrested him.

He is now being held in Villawood Detention Centre in Sydney.

Mr O’Boyle got engaged to his fiancée last Christmas.

New figures for July 1 to October 31 show the 457 visa remains popular with Irish applicants.

Over 4,000 Irish nationals have been granted 457 visas since July this year, new figures released by the Department of Immigration (DIAC) show.

The figures show that as of October 31 a tenth of all 457 workers in Australia were Irish.

Of the 101,970 primary 457 visa holders in Australia as of that date, approximately 11,310 were Irish citizens, with most residing in NSW.

Notably, there were only 140 more Irish 457-holders living in NSW than in WA, an indication of the state’s rising popularity as a place to live and work.

The top three industries for primary visa grants between July 1 and October 31 were construction, healthcare and social assistance and other services.

The four-year 457s are temporary residence visas offered to skilled workers and their dependants who are sponsored by an Australian company.

Some 4,120 Irish nationals had their application for a 457 visa granted by DIAC between July 1 and October 31.

Of that 4,120, some 2,640 were comprised of primary applicants while 1,480 were classed as secondary applicants.

Primary visa grants refer to people who applied for sponsorship for their own behalf, while secondary applicants are those attached to partners’ applications.

The total number of subclass 457 primary visa applications lodged between July 1 and October 31 was 13.5 per cent higher than the same period in the previous programme year, while grants were 13.4 per cent higher.

Grants to Irish citizens were just over 30 per cent higher than the same period in the previous programme year.

The United Kingdom (21 per cent), India (19.8 per cent) and the Republic of Ireland (10.2 per cent) accounted for just over half of the 457 visas granted in this four-month period.

Figures for the United Kingdom include applicants from Northern Ireland.

Western Australia remains the destination where most Irish workers are securing sponsorship, followed by New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

As the main applicant, some 1,050 Irish people gained sponsorship with a company in WA between July 1 and October 31.

Ireland remains the second highest contributor of sponsored workers to WA, behind the United Kingdom.

Some 720 Irish people secured sponsorship in NSW during this period.

In Victoria, 390 Irish people were granted a 457 visa.

Businesses in Queensland sponsored 340 Irish people in the same period.

Grants in the remaining states and territories also rose in percentage terms, although the number of applicants was generally lower.

DIAC does not provide figures on the number of 457 visas that are cancelled each month.

FWO finalised almost 1,000 complaints from visaholders in the financial year to June 30.

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has recovered over $1.7m in wages and entitlements for visa holders since 2009, new figures show.

In the previous financial year alone, FWO finalised almost 1,000 complaints from visa holders and recovered $717,493. This was almost twice the number of complaints received in the financial year 2010-11.

That year, FWO received 585 complaints from visa holders and recovered $510,275.

FWO says it devotes considerable resources to protecting foreign workers’ workplace rights because it is conscious that foreign workers in Australia can be vulnerable because they are often not fully aware of their workplace rights under Australian laws.

Youth, language and cultural barriers can make it difficult for foreign workers to negotiate their employment conditions.

The FWO figures relate to a range of visa subclasses – such as the working holiday visa, the four-year 457 work visa and the student visa, among others.

The FWO figures do not provide a breakdown by nationality.

However, recent figures from the Department of Immigration show that as of August 31, a tenth of all 457 visa holders in Australia were Irish.

Of the 93,420 primary 457 visa holders in Australia on August 31, approximately 9,790 were Irish citizens, with most residing in NSW.

The Ombudsman’s infoline received over 3,000 enquiries about or from visa holders or migrant workers in the previous financial year.

“The best defence for a foreign worker is an awareness of their workplace rights,” an FWO spokesperson said.

“Foreign workers have the same rights as any other worker in Australia. Any foreign worker who is concerned they have been treated unfairly or is seeking information about minimum entitlements under workplace laws should contact the Fair Work infoline on 13 13 94 for free advice and assistance.”

Complaints can be made confidentially. Last year, the FWO launched an initiative to ensure compliance with the Fair Work Act by employers of migrant workers.

This is achieved through targeted education and compliance activities in areas or industries identified as employing high numbers of migrant workers.

Investigations and audits arising out of the initiative are the subject of  ongoing activity in several states.

The exterior of Villawood Detention Centre. (Pic: Australian Human Rights Commission)

An Irishman currently being held in Villawood Detention Centre has called on the Immigration Minister Chris Bowen to review his case and grant him permanent residency on the grounds that he has fathered an Australian child.

Patrick Lee, originally from Lucan, Co Dublin, has spent the last year held in detention centres around the nation.

Mr Lee, 26, is an excavator driver by profession and has lived in Australia since 2009.

However, the Dubliner was arrested in August 2011 by Australian police and is due to be deported for overstaying his 457 work visa.

Mr Lee met his partner, 21, while he was in detention and a relationship soon followed. She is now six months pregnant.

Mr Lee said he could not leave the country and leave his unborn child fatherless.

A spokesperson for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) said Mr Lee is currently on a removal pathway.

“We will not forcibly remove Mr Lee, as it is his right to exhaust all legal avenues, but at this point no new evidence has emerged in favour of his staying,” the spokesperson said.

“Mr Lee is free to leave Australia and Villawood whenever he withdraws his appeals.”

Speaking exclusively to the Irish Echo from Villawood, Mr Lee detailed his situation and living conditions.

“I have spent the last year in jail or detention and have feared for my life on numerous occasions. I have called on the minister to review my case as a number of my human rights have already been breached,” he said.

He was originally arrested by Australian Federal Police in August 2011 having been charged with sexual assault.

These charges were later withdrawn and no conviction was made.

However, at that stage he had already overstayed his visa by five months.

“I have called on the Irish government for support and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has been made aware of my situation by my family but the embassy and the Irish government have not been much help, their hands are tied,” he claimed.

Mr Lee has felt in danger of his life during his stay in Villawood.

“I was jumped by three fellow inmates a number of months ago and was lucky to escape with my life.

“Villawood staff would not send me to a doctor or hospital despite worries that I had a fractured eye socket and broken nose. In the end I had to call an ambulance myself to come and attend to me.”

His overcrowded cell has erupted into violence before, he claims.

“I had a knife turned on me and had to act to defend myself, and another incident which resulted in a riot by fellow inmates led to me being put into solitary confinement for one month. I had no part in the riots or fights, but was subjected to the same treatment as the perpetrators.”

:: High Court vow

An antenatal scan provided to the Irish Echo, with Mr Lee’s partner’s consent, shows the unborn child at 20 weeks.

Mr Lee claims he has been keeping written records of his treatment as well as photo evidence of the conditions faced by inmates at Villawood.

“We are not criminals and yet are treated as such. Violence is common place and I am discriminated against because of my ethnicity and religion.”

Mr Lee is due before a Federal Court later this month but intends to remove that appeal and apply for a second ministerial intervention.

Mr Lee’s initial ministerial intervention was rejected on the grounds that no legal basis existed for him to remain in the country.

He claims DIAC has written to him before stating that they have breached section 359A of the Migration Act in dealing with his case.

Section 359A of the act relates to full information being given to an applicant about their case file.

“I am fighting to stay, I do not want to leave my partner. If my plea to the minister is quashed I will go to the High Court,” he said, by phone from within Villawood Detention Centre.

“Even though I am in detention I am supporting my partner with my savings. I don’t want to be out of the country when my baby is born,” he said.

“I came to Australia to start a new life and work. I believe Australia is a good country. But the last 12 months have been the darkest of my life, I’ve battled thoughts of self-harm but I can’t give up. I just want to get out and start my life with my partner and child.”

Mr Lee appeared before Bankstown Local Court on Friday, November 2, where he was found guilty of affray over an incident involving other detainees at Villawood.

He was found guilty, without conviction, and was directed by Magistrate Truscott to enter into a good behaviour bond for 12 months.

He must appear before the court during the bond term, if required

In 2011, 16 Irish citizens were deported from Australia, according to figures from Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Calls are being made for the 457 visa to be offered to childcare workers.

A leading Australian childcare provider has called on the government to offer the 457 visa for workers with qualifications suited to the sector.

Guardian Childcare Alliance, a privately owned operator of over 70 childcare centres, has put forward a submission to the government asking for an overhaul of the current system with particular reference to childcare workers.

Chief executive Tom Hardwick says significant changes are needed.

“At the moment childcare workers are not eligible to come to Australia on the 457 visa and as such we are experiencing a shortage in the country,” he said.

Guardian have asked that diploma qualified childcare workers be added to the list of eligible professions on the 457 visa. Currently only bachelor qualified workers are eligible to be included.

“We are losing good staff because of the working holiday rules and even if we want to sponsor an employee we cannot,” he added.

A spokesperson for Early Childhood Minister Peter Garrett yesterday told The Australian newspaper that the proposal would be considered.

Guardian have also suggested a merging of childcare benefits and childcare rebate and reallocating administrative savings into increased parent funding. It has called for an increase in funding to help offset the National Quality Framework.

The National Quality Framework is a government incentive launched in January 2012 to improve childcare infrastructure throughout the nation.

The submission says assistance to families should not be capped at a family income of $150,000 but at $250-300,000.

Guardian has called for assistance to be paid directly to centres to minimize the gap fee currently charged to parents.

If the company’s reform suggestions were adopted, a large number of Irish childcare workers would be eligible to travel to Australia on a 457 visa.

“Government are looking at the issue and the response looks positive but because of the EMA [Enterprise Migration Agreement] issue we have to tread carefully,” he said.

“If the reforms are granted we will go to the UK and Irish markets and recruit directly,” he added.

Macmahon is just one of a number of companies to feel the pain of a drop in commodity prices.

The dip in Western Australia’s mining industry is creating uncertainty for some Irish workers who have been sponsored by companies in the resources rich state.

With mining services firms experiencing a lag before the commencement of new subcontracts with key industry players, Irish workers on 457 visas are facing the threat of layoffs.

Workers on 457 visas have just 28 days to find a new sponsor should they be made redundant.

The Irish Echo has learned that 24 Irish workers taken on by Perth-based contractor Macmahon Holdings in 2011 are facing that prospect.

“With some of those [mining] projects now nearing completion, Macmahon is redeploying 457 visa holders to other projects where possible. Some of these people have already transferred to other projects,” said the company’s General Manager of HR, Angie Young.

One Irish mines supervisor has had to return to Limerick with his wife and their three young children, after Macmahon terminated his 457 visa on October 5, less than a year into the role.

Macmahon confirmed the redundancy and said “he is being supported by the company in his efforts to find alternative employment in Australia”.

You can read about the family’s experience here.

Sydney-based registered migration agent John McQuaid, who writes the Visability column for this newspaper, said employers are obliged to treat 457 visa holders within fair work laws and cannot simply sack people without just cause.

However, he says, “employers are entitled to make people redundant should contracts cease [or if] work dries up.”

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) said it does not keep figures on 457 visas that are cancelled following redundancy.

Some 540 Irish people gained sponsorship with an Australian company in WA, in July and August of this year.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has indicated it will continue to use the 457 visa to employ skilled workers as part of the massive expansion of its Pilbara iron ore operations in WA.

Dubliner Mark Keogh believes some sponsored workers in WA's mining sector have adopted a "mercenary perspective". (Pic: File)

The owner of a mining services company in Perth has warned that businesses are beginning to shy away from taking on workers on 457 visas.

UON, which Dubliner Mark Keogh established in 1989, works with large mining industry players such as Chevron, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and energy company Western Power.

The Rathfarnham native was a winner at the 2012 Telstra Australian Business of the Year awards, in August.

Mr Keogh told the Irish Echo that mining and the mining services sector in WA is “in a lag”.

Pointing to recent cutbacks by the likes of Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), he said companies were changing they way they do business, to deal with the iron ore slowdown.

“They’re effectively looking at the inefficiencies that exist within the organisation and they’re making the necessary changes to allow them to take on the production side of the business again – which is dig the holes, shift the dirt and make the money,” he said.

He warned that many businesses, including his own, have had bad experiences with workers on 457 visas.

Mr Keogh said his company had in the past spent $25,000 to relocate two Irish workers to Perth – only for them to leave early to join FMG.

“The reality is that there’s been a transient population that has come in over the visa applications for work. Now, that really was a result for the demand for those guys within the last one or two years.

“That demand has dropped off,” he said.

“You look at the guys that have come over. They were non-committal to companies, they were using companies for their own stepping stones. So a lot of the guys have come in and been brought in with various companies and then have gone to other companies.

“There’s been no loyalty to the companies that brought them in the first place and a lot of companies are now not trusting the security and liability of that workforce and instead
returning to their more traditional supply [in Asia].”

He said companies in the mining services sector were realising that some workers were coming over from a “mercenary perspective”.

“The workforce that has come over has not left a very good taste in the Australian mining communities’ minds … that is it’s being treated as a party town with buckets of gold. Effectively, the tap has been turned off,” he said.

Some 2,070 Irish nationals had their application for a 457 visa granted by the Department of Immigration in July and August this year, latest figures show.

Grants to Irish citizens were 31 per cent higher than in the same two-month period in the previous programme year.