Pacific work scheme about to launch

Papua New Guinea workers could be picking fruit in Australia early next year after the signing of an international agreement this week. Three farming areas in Australia - Swan Hill and Robinvale in north-western Victoria and Griffith in the NSW Riverina - have been selected to participate in the Pacific seasonal worker pilot scheme. PNG workers were admitted to the deal after a last minute change of heart by the Australian Government in August.

Australian farmers hope the workers will arrive in January, although many details such as accommodation and transport still have to be ironed out. The finalisation of the scheme ends months of uncertainty for growers.

A delegation of ministers and public servants from PNG and other Pacific island countries will travel to Swan Hill this week for talks about the program. Swan Hill Mayor Gary Norton applauded the news. "We reckon it's great. The sooner the better. We've got a lot of horticultural growers at the moment waiting for workers," he said. "We need a good, reliable workforce for the picking. When the fruit is ready to be picked it's got to be picked that day, it's no good the next day."

Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Duncan Kerr, said up to 2500 workers will come to Australia for up to seven months each year. National Farmers Federation president David Crombie said about 100 workers would start within weeks.

He said the horticulture industry had a nationwide shortage of 22,000 seasonal workers and the scheme was critical to ensure farmers kept producing food. "At present, in the Pacific Islands, we have a ready, willing and able workforce happy to make the trek into regional Australia to fill these positions. Australian farmers are ready to welcome them with open arms.”

Comments

[Colin Huggins]

What Richard has written re: this business I totally concur with. It would be far better for the Federal and State Governments to get the unemployed to work. Maybe difficult but if anyone has seen young, unemployed, Aboriginal and White people plus numerous Pacific Islanders doing nothing all day, I suggest they visit Fortitude Valley in Brisbane. There is nothing done by these young people and in most cases, to me looking like they could work - but won't.
Remove CentreLink payments and they may hopefully come to their senses.
If 2500 Pacific Islands come you can look at 100+ disappearing into, what I could say, the bush and then appear for CentreLink payments in 2010!
Like Richard I do feel sorry for the fruit and grape growers, but get the useless backsides off the streets of Austalian cities and towns and to work.

[Richard E Jones]

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
Mr Norton from Swan Hill might be ecstatic about Pacific island workers coming to his town ---- incidentally a delightful spot on the Murray ---- but as for Robinvale ??
Irt's been a hotbed of inter-racial tension (read brawling and worse) between a disparate group of people ranging from transplanted Pacific islanders and people of Maori descent, through to Vietnamese and Horn of Africa workers.
Get ready for the inevitable round of visa and permit over-stayers plus those who will try the 'I can't go back home now after sampling life in Oz' routine.
While we all sympathise strongly with the fruit and grape growers during this never-ending drought, this little scheme could turn out an absolute disaster.
Mark my words --- this portent of things to come was submitted on December 1.
Not trying to be a harbinger of doom .... just pointing out the ramificatiuons of what is clearly a short-term solution.
And yes, I have been to Robinvale and Swan Hill. I live less than 2 hours south of S. Hill.