Australia delays controversial agriculture visa worried Pacific Leaders Featured
18 September, 2018. Australia's government has delayed the announcement of a new agriculture visa, which Pacific leaders feared could have spelled the end of two workers' visas unique for the region.
Canberra has been signalling it will introduce a new visa to fill labour gaps in agricultural sectors, which would likely be open to people from Asian countries or anyone from anywhere.
But that's prompted concerns that two already-existing visas, which allow for Pacific Islanders to work in Australia, would be killed by such a scheme.
Australia's Assistant Minister for the Pacific, Anne Ruston, now says the visa is "still very much in development," and Australia's commitment to labour mobility in the region remains a "number one priority."
Stephen Howes, from the Australian National University, says any removal of Pacific benefits would likely harm relations.
"You know Australia's developed something called the step-up strategy in the Pacific and at the heart of that strategy is labour mobility.
It's meant to be something we can offer the Pacific that China can't. So from a foreign policy perspective this new visa would be disastrous and it would really shred Australia's credibility in the Pacific," Stephen Howes said.
-RNZI
1 comment
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Thank you Australia for the opportunity for Tongan to work as seasonal workers but , should not the Government do more to create some project locally so as to give employment to those that are unemployed because not everybody will go to Australia . Tonga should not rely on other countries generosity but do something to help herself as well . Surely someone in Government can think of something that could give long term work for the people who can't get work so as to keep them occupied and out of mischief . Idle hands are tools of the devil .