No Pacific guest workers plan: Labor

Labor says it has no plans to allow unskilled Pacific island guest workers into Australia to ease labour shortages, if it wins the upcoming election.

Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews accused the opposition of inviting a ‘flood’ of boat arrivals from the Pacific, after reports a Labor government would consider allowing in guest workers to perform unskilled seasonal jobs.

The National Farmers Federation and World Bank have been lobbying the government to provide short-term visas for temporary workers from Pacific countries hit by high unemployment.

They would likely be employed as fruit-pickers or in similar agricultural jobs and could send their wages back to their struggling home countries.

Opposition aid spokesman Bob McMullan said Labor was keeping watch on a trial of one such guest worker scheme under way in New Zealand.

But the party did not have a policy of adopting a similar program in Australia.

‘An incoming Labor government will monitor New Zealand’s experience,’ Mr McMullan said.

‘A commitment beyond examining the outcome of the trial in New Zealand has not been made, nor is one being considered.’

A labour mobility scheme would be a bad idea at present because the government’s workplace laws did not offer enough protection for vulnerable workers, Mr McMullan said.

Mr Andrews said allowing unskilled migrant workers into Australia would drive down wages and conditions without easing skills shortages.

‘This irresponsible policy would inevitably result in a flood of illegal boat arrivals heading to Australia,’ the minister said.

‘The Australian government will not support any scheme that would allow unskilled workers to flood the country and threaten the wages and condition of Australian working families.’

Labor seized on the comment as it accused the government of allowing vulnerable migrant workers to be exploited through its industrial relations laws.

‘If as the minister says … he is concerned that cheaper labour could flood the country and threaten wages and conditions of Australian working families, why has he this year alone allowed more than 46,000 temporary overseas workers into the country without any requirement that they are paid the going market rate?’ Mr McMullan said.

Mr Andrews said the government’s temporary migration program only permitted skilled migrants to enter Australia and there were no plans to extend this to unskilled seasonal workers.

However, on August 8 Foreign Minister Alexander Downer suggested the government was keeping its options open about allowing in unskilled Pacific island labour.

‘I know that New Zealand has started a seasonal labour scheme to allow Pacific island workers to fill some rural jobs. We will be watching the results of this program closely to see how effective it is and how well it works,’ Mr Downer said.

Pacific nations have long called for their workers to be allowed into Australia to perform temporary or seasonal jobs.
The Sydney Morning Herald, August 30, 2007