The government's move to restrict the use of the 457 visa scheme, or the temporary skilled migrant visa programme, has sparked debates from all sectors and political sides.

On Tuesday, the federal Opposition sought for a parliamentary review on the proposed reforms to the visa programme.

The changes are scheduled for deliberation in the parliament's lower house later in the day.

Mr. Scott Morrison, spokesman of the coalition immigration, accused the government of failure to conduct a proper consultation with industry players before pursuing the reforms. He said it did not even release a statement discussing the regulatory impact of the changes.

The spokesman said the government is just looking "to ram through what is nothing less than an attack on skilled migrants."

The coalition has already made it clear that it is not supporting the legislation.

Government Accused of Lacking Evidence

Lately, Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor has been receiving flak for his statement that there has been abuse committed on the 457 visa scheme. It is a statement that is strongly refuted by employers who call the claims baseless.

Mr O'Connor, however, insists that the government has evidence to support his claims. He added that because of the misuse and abuse of the visa scheme, more skilled Australians and young graduates have been deprived of job opportunities.

On ABC Radio, the immigration minister said he's tired of answering the accusations hurled against him and the government. He added that proof of what he says is the questionable increase in 457 visas in recent times.

457 Visa Scheme Reforms

Earlier, Labor had proposed changes to the 457 visa scheme that will oblige bosses to exhaustively try all means to hire Australians first before looking into employing foreign workers.

Also part of the reforms is the increase in the number of inspectors by ten times more, allowing Labor to gain expanded power in monitoring strict compliance.

Employers have expressed opposition to this, saying that the new demand for labour market testing will only burden them with tedious compliance requirements.

"The combination of the skilled occupation list of positions eligible for 457 sponsorship and declarations by businesses that they put hiring locally and training locally before recruiting foreign workers should be enough," Australian Industry Group Chief Executive Innes Willox said.

While employers opposed the legislation, the union movement, on the other hand, has expressed support to the reforms.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions said that it was time to expose and mend the exploitation of 457 visa workers.