Some quotes from the AFR seaplanes and 457 article.
....
The five pilots Mr Shaw employs in winter and the eight in summer are mainly from Canada and the United States on 457 visas but aeroplane pilots have joined a slew of occupations now ineligible for the new visas announced by the government this week.
"It's a terrible situation. If I put an ad out for a seaplane pilot in Australia, I would barely get a whimper," he told AFR Weekend.
"That skills market doesn't exist here and, ...
...
flying culture often means those qualified tend to use smaller tourism companies as a stepping stone towards larger airlines such as Qantas.
...
Mr Shaw's business is the largest in Australia and turns over about $8 million a year. The pilots fly between 25,000 and 30,000 domestic and international tourists a year from its base in Rose Bay.
... Mr Shaw's business is seasonal and he employs about 30 people in the summer and 20 in winter; the vast majority of them are foreign nationals on a variety of visas.
"It's not just pilots. As I've found advertising for our new hospitality arm, whether it be entry level hospitality or administration staff, virtually everyone we receive applications from are foreign nationals who are here on a variety of visas.
...
Sydney Seaplanes courts the Chinese market and has employed market specialists on 457 visas before, in a bid to drum up Asian business.
...
Mr Shaw said the new English language laws were an unnecessary interference in an open market, especially when businesses are looking to grow.
...
"As long as I can communicate with them, I don't care if their English is not quite perfect. I want their Chinese to be perfect.
"I don't need the government to tell me how and at what level my potential employee needs to be able to speak English.
"A person's ability to speak English should be determined by the market, not the government. This is not a person to become a citizen, this is a person to fill a temporary role."
Temporary roles that never end. It seems Mr. Shaw seems to run his whole business on 457 visas and is just rorting the system. If you pay people enough, they'll do the job. Giving jobs to 3rd world people will only make Australia part of the 3rd world.
The only concession I'd give him is the Chinese language issue, but we have immigrants from China and these workers should be available through standard employment practices.