The Senate decision basically means that anybody working in the offshore resources industry on a 400, 457 or Maritime Crew visa will not be allowed to work.
Many of these workers are in highly specialised categories and without them the vessels conducting the offshore work may not be able to operate. Therefore, some offshore projects will likely grind to a halt, leaving the industry in limbo.
It is understood Assistant Immigration Minister Senator Michaelia Cash is trying to negotiate a solution to the impasse the disallowance has created.
Australian Mines and Metals Association executive director Scott Barklamb slammed the move.
He said by voting to disallow the visa regulations underpinning offshore resources work, Labor and Greens senators had created chaos and uncertainty for thousands of employees at sea, on oil and gas platforms, on drilling rigs and in a variety of other critical, job-creating activities.
"This union-Green trickery backed by Labor senators could lead to hundreds or even thousands of Australian and non-Australian workers in the offshore resource industry stood down," Barklamb said.
"This disallowance impacts every offshore resources project in Australia - projects worth $200 billion to our economy and employing upwards of 70,000 people."
Barklamb said the disallowance did not just invalidate those workers on short-term MCVs, it affected all non-Australian residents on offshore resources activities, including those who had been working here for years on longstanding visa arrangements.
"We now have a situation of real uncertainty for business, for employees and their families," he said.
Here is a snapshot of how things could play out:
- 150 Australian workers on a specialist offshore construction vessel may be stood down because the 70 non-Australian specialists who are critical to operating and navigating the ship cannot legally do their jobs;
- An entire offshore oil rig production team will not have a supervisor and cannot do their job because their production manager is a non-Australian working here due to their specialist international experience;
- Offshore construction personnel relying on their non-Australian colleagues for support and specialist expertise have had their work thrown into chaos.
"Skilled migrant workers comprise a tiny minority of jobs in the offshore oil and gas sector but their specialist international skills are critical to delivering jobs for Australians," Barklamb said.
"Imagine the uproar if Australians enjoying job opportunities around the world were subjected to such draconian and irresponsible attitudes about non-local workers.
"Labor and the Greens have done the bidding of the Maritime Union of Australia, driven by the union's petulance, because it doesn't receive membership fees from a few hundred international specialists working on a couple of specialised vessels."
