LABOR’S IMMIGRATION SHAMBLES BAD FOR EMPLOYERS
Shadow Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Senator Susan McDonald has lashed Labor’s new working holiday visa arrangements, warning regional employers will struggle to keep businesses running and get crops to market.
The number of working holiday makers able to remain for a second year will be capped at 45,000, compared with 57,000 who qualified last year, while the third-year allocation will be slashed to just 5000, compared with 31,000 last year.
“Tony Burke has effectively admitted that Australia needs these workers by restoring processing so enough backpackers can get here to work in industries such as agriculture. Then, in the very same announcement, he has created a system designed to force thousands of them out after they have gained experience and demonstrated a willingness to work in regional Australia,” she said.
“That makes absolutely no sense.
“A first-year backpacker arriving in Australia is useful. A second or third-year backpacker who already knows the country, has worked a harvest, understands Australian workplaces and may have relationships with regional employers is even more valuable.
“I have spoken to dozens of regional employers who employ backpackers as station cooks, in pubs, truck stops, motels and picking crops, often over successive years.
“They are furious about the new arrangements and worried about the future viability of their operations.
“The Albanese Government has completely bungled immigration from day one. They created this mess and true to form, their solution makes no sense and will create more problems.”
Senator McDonald said the effects of cutting immigration numbers from a sector that contributed so much to the economy would be widespread.
“There’s a real risk that crops will be left to rot and remote businesses just won’t be able to operate,” she said.
“Working holiday makers aren’t sitting around cities making them more crowded, they go where they’re most needed and they spend money in the regional communities where they work.
“Unlike Student Visa holders, they don’t bring dependent children with them.
“Regional employers can’t be held to ransom by a Minister turning the visa tap off and on depending on the political pressure of the week.
“The Coalition supports bringing migration back to sustainable levels and linking it to Australia’s capacity to provide housing and services.
“We call on the Albanese Government to get its head out of the sand, target the rorts, visa hopping, illegal overstayers and parts of the system that aren’t delivering for Australia.
“Don’t slash visas for people who have already proved they are willing to work and who are so important for regional economies.”
ENDS