Bill Shorten will ramp up his foreign worker fight as the Turnbull government tries to push its signature industrial relations legislation past a cranky crossbench during the final week of Parliament.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Labor leader will introduce a private member's bill seeking to crack down on the 457 visa program on Monday, in a bid to set the agenda and embarrass the government over the issue.
The Migration Amendment (Putting Local Workers First) Bill 2016 would introduce stronger labour market testing and tougher criteria for licensing 457 workers, and give ministers more power to grant and revoke labour agreements. It would also impose tougher restrictions on employers.
"If Malcolm Turnbull really believes in backing local jobs, he'll back my plan," Mr Shorten told Fairfax Media.
"We'll always need workers from overseas to fill genuine skills shortages, but the current system makes it too easy for bosses to bring in workers instead of hiring locally. My legislation will toughen the rules so that employers have to genuinely try to fill jobs locally before looking overseas."
Mr Shorten has been criticised for using the 457 issue to harness the anti-migrant sentiment associated with Donald Trump's victory in the United States, the Brexit decision in the UK and the rise of One Nation here.
The government, meanwhile, will be hoping to end the parliamentary year on a high by finally passing the building industry laws that were used as the trigger for the July 2 double-dissolution election.
However, the crossbench is not playing nice, with Nick Xenophon declaring his three-person Senate team will not vote for any government bills until a dispute about the Murray-Darling Basin is resolved.
The government is also hoping to reach a final compromise on the backpacker tax, to give the industry certainty.
The opposition will also seek to keep the pressure on Mr Turnbull over his under-fire Attorney-General George Brandis, amid rumours the Prime Minister is planning a frontbench reshuffle in the coming months.