Up to 2,500 workers from the Pacific Islands will be granted visas to pick fruit and vegetables in Australia under a new government programme to ease the country's growing farm labour crisis.
The three-year trial visa programme, which was announced yesterday by Federal Agriculture Minister Tony Burke, will allow workers from Kiribati, Tonga, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea to work in Australia for seven months of any given year picking fruit and vegetables in regions such as Griffith in New South Wales and Swan Hill in Victoria.
The scheme is supported by the National Farmers Federation, the Australian Workers' Union and Oxfam Australia, with the first group of workers set to arrive later this year in time for the October harvest.
Australia currently faces an estimated shortfall of 22,000 reliable seasonal harvesters, leading to multi-million dollar losses for the horticulture industry, which estimates that up to A$700m-worth of fresh produce is being left to rot on the vine due to the labour shortage.
Mr Burke was swift to underline that the scheme is not a 'cheap labour' option for farmers, noting that it would probably cost them slightly more to employ the Pacific Islanders than local workers. 'Participating employers will have to pay half of their return airfares and cover establishment and pastoral care costs involved in bringing Pacific Island workers to Australia,' he told local media.
Before taking part in the scheme, employers must prove that there are no local workers available to meet their requirements. They must also meet Australian work standards, including awards and rates of pay. Pacific Islanders, meanwhile, will have to comply with standard immigration health and background checks.
Secretary of the Australian Workers' Union Paul Howes said that while it had some issues with importing foreign labour, it would work with the government to make the scheme work. 'There are some pretty grubby and horrible things that happen out there in the remote workplaces where farmers have used foreign labour. That's why I support a system that regulates it. I mean, if we don't regulate the scheme, the illegal practices will continue,” he commented.
President of Cherry Growers of Australia Ian Hay told The Canberra Times that he was generally supportive of the trial, but that the seven-month visa period may be too short a term for some industries, which require assistance all year round.
