Seasonal or illegal? Canberra, take your pick
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 30 June 2008: 31.
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"It is A-OK with us," he said. "There are real problems in this industry and if you can't get labour the whole industry collapses."
"We don't want cheap labour," he said. "We don't want abuses."
"Far from exploiting workers, this is actually a chance to end the nefarious activities that are almost certainly prevailing now, when there are acute labour shortages," she said. "Having a transparent scheme is actually a chance to weed out all the bad guys. Going legal is the best way to put daylight on the issue."
Agribusiness
PROPONENTS call it a win-win idea, and even the unions have dropped their opposition, but a plan to have Pacific Islanders picking fruit and vegetables on seasonal visas in fields and orchards across Australia is still mouldering in government inboxes.
Horticultural industries Australia-wide face a chronic labour shortage. There may officially be 465,000 people unemployed, but farmers find it almost impossible to get workers and the problem is getting worse.
After years of stonewalling by the previous government, there is now hope the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, will make an announcement at the Pacific Leaders Forum scheduled for August on the island of Niue.
Proponents of a seasonal work visa scheme say it is not a guest worker program, it has no immigration component, and participants will only be in Australia for a maximum of six months.
Australian farm sector research estimates the cost to Australia of not establishing a seasonal labour scheme for foreign workers inthe horticulture sector could exceed $1.1 billion a year in forgone taxation revenue.
Pacific island nations have long favoured increased labour mobility and are as strongly behind the scheme as the local farmers.
A trial of Pacific island workers in New Zealand, the New Zealand Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme, which involved islanders picking wine grapes, kiwifruit and apples, has been operating since last June and been widely deemed a success.
The industry claims there is an urgent shortage of at least 20,000 workers in the horticultural sector as it recovers from drought.
The current lack of a reliable workforce is creating problems in the industry.
In recent years farmers have been forced to rely on backpackers and grey nomads for an important part of their workforce.
Decades ago, a rag-tag band of itinerant workers followed the national harvest trail, picking tomatoes in Queensland, onions in Griffith, cherries in Young.
It was an open secret that many of these people were on the dole and working for cash.
However, the introduction of tax file numbers and mechanical harvesting put an end to one of Australia's most colourful subcultures.
Today, it is an open secret that many farmers are relying on illegal labour, employing contractors who often don't look too closely atthe bona fides of people they are putting into the field.
Horticulture Australia Council head Kris Newton, who is likely to oversee a pilot scheme, said the industry was totally behind themove.
Ms Newton said the council hoped regional alliances would be formed so that, for example, workers from a village in Tonga might go to Griffith in NSW for several months, while workers from Niue might go to Shepparton in Victoria to pick stone fruit.
Ms Newton is hoping the first trial of Pacific Island workers will be in the order of 3000.
"This is not about cheap labour: it is about labour," she said. "If we could get existing Australian labourers we would take them.
"We have tried again and again in partnership with regional councils to encourage local unemployed or indigenous people into employment."
For the islanders, the work that Australians are so reluctant to embrace represents a dream come true.
With annual incomes often less than $1000 a year, workers can return after only a few months as some of the richest people in their communities.
"They are keen, fit, have a good work ethic and are used to the outdoor life," Ms Newton said. "Often workers can earn $2000 a week easily, even $3000, which is an absolute fortune where they come from. They can earn more in a week than they could in a year back home.
"This is a win-win-win situation, a good news story. It benefits Australian regional communities, Pacific Island communities, workers and growers."
Jonathan Nathundriwa, 30, who has been in Australia as a permanent resident since 1992 and is applying for Australian citizenship, said there were thousands of young people across the islands ready, willing and able to work. He had successfully built up a business, but finding workers was always a problem.
"My family at home in Fiji are busting their chops for $10 a day, I would love to give them employment.
"The islands are full of young men who are willing to work. They have a lot of potential but no opportunity. They could be a big help in rural Australia."
Farmers back the scheme almost without exception. Gay Tripodi, who runs the stone fruit operation Murrawee Farms at Swan Hill in Victoria, said the problem was not just a shortage of labour, but the quality of workers.
"The situation, in short, is dramatic because in our region we have 70 per cent of farmers relying on contractors who are bringing in illegal workers. The remainder is topped up with backpackers.
"We can't have illegal workers. They are being exploited by the contractors, and often the blame is going on to the growers. Thegrowers are desperate to get their fruit picked and they take whatever comes in the gate.
"We need people who want to work and take the opportunity to better themselves -- and go home when the work is finished."
Paul Howes, national secretary of the Australian Workers Union, which covers farm workers, said it was very positive towards theidea of employing Pacific islanders on a seasonal basis.
"It is A-OK with us," he said. "There are real problems in this industry and if you can't get labour the whole industry collapses."
Mr Howes said the only conditions they were placing on the scheme was that workers were treated exactly like every otherAustralian.
"We don't want cheap labour," he said. "We don't want abuses."
Dr Manjula Luthria, senior regional economist for the Pacific Islands operations of the World Bank, said the large pools of unemployed youths across the Pacific could create massive social problems.
"Far from exploiting workers, this is actually a chance to end the nefarious activities that are almost certainly prevailing now, when there are acute labour shortages," she said. "Having a transparent scheme is actually a chance to weed out all the bad guys. Going legal is the best way to put daylight on the issue."
Credit: John Stapleton
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