Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has accused Opposition Leader Bill Shorten of what he calls "breathtaking" hypocrisy over proposed changes to Australia's 4-5-7 visa program.
The Labor leader is calling for Australian employers to prioritise local jobseekers instead of relying on foreign workers.
But the Prime Minister says Mr Shorten's record as a former Labor employment minister tells a different story.
Australia's 4-5-7 skilled-visa program is once again under attack.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has called for a crackdown on the use of foreign workers as part of an Australia First policy push.
The 4-5-7 visa program allows businesses to employ skilled migrants for up to four years in jobs where there is a shortage of Australian workers.
But Mr Shorten says the current system is being exploited.
"People are coming here, being exploited and working for a few dollars an hour, and this is a whole-scale problem, and the system needs to change. And Labor's up for that change."
Mr Shorten wants Australian jobs to be advertised locally for at least four weeks to make sure businesses try to employ Australian workers before searching overseas.
"Now is the time to prioritise Australian jobs. And we're going to do it by toughening the rules around visas and saying to those employers who have a need to employ overseas labour that they should have a training plan to give locals a go."
Mr Shorten was speaking during a tour of regional Queensland.
He says Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull needs to spend time in regional communities to understand the challenges local workers face.
"Malcolm Turnbull needs to get out of the Sydney Harbourside and start visiting regional Australia and talk to blue-collar workers -- talk to boilermakers, talk to tilers, talk to plasterers, talk to carpenters, talk to people who work in hospitality, talk to the farms, where we see some of these problems."
But the Prime Minister says Labor's criticism of the scheme is hypocritical.
"Mr Shorten's hypocrisy on the subject of foreign workers is breathtaking. The highest number of 4-5-7 visas were granted when he was the employment minister. Around a third more 4-5-7 visas were granted when he was employment minister than have been granted over the last 12 months.
Mr Turnbull says Labor's hypocrisy extends to its opposition to the Government's backpacker tax legislation.
The tax would see foreign backpackers pay 19 per cent tax from every dollar they earn.
"This leader of the opposition is a rank opportunist. He is completely hypocritical on this issue. Nobody has been better at granting 4-5-7 visas than him. And there he is now, saying that if one of our children, if one of your children or grandchildren, goes out there to pick fruit, they will pay tax, but a foreign backpacker, in Bill Shorten's world, will pay no tax at all.
Shadow Employment Minister Brendan O'Connor has defended Labor's new "Australia First" approach after Senator Pauline Hanson suggested Labor is taking inspiration from One Nation's policies.
"We firstly believe in a non-discriminatory immigration policy. So, that is a very distinct view compared to that of One Nation. And secondly, in relation to temporary workers, we're worried about the exploitation of those workers. We're worried about good employers doing the right thing missing out, and we're worried that local workers, out of the job market, are missing out on opportunities. I think that's an entirely different proposition than the one that's being put forward by Senator Hanson.
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