Why is immigration not cut given higher unemployment and falling demand?, page-14

That's capitalism mate (make as much money as you can)

If you are advocating higher wages for workers then
you should be advocating trade unionism because
it has been trade unionism which historically gave
the Aus working class decent wages and working conditions.

All that changed by the Howard Government gutting
the trade unions and setting up the legal framework whereby
the tradies (the working class traditional leaders) are now
capitalists in their own right as independent contractors
with ABNs and tax perks.

This transition coincides with the privatisation of our major SOEs
such as Telstra, Qantas etc and the outsourcing of Government
work generally.

So its hard being a capitalist who believes in the free market
and then advocating higher wages for workers that the free
market is not supplying.

The free market is not training apprentices at the required rate;
hence the importation of skilled labour and the new Government's apprenticeship programs
(ie: taxpayer funded)