Canberra, 24 November 2008
Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme
Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony and Participant Briefing Session
Salutation and introduction
Agnes Shea and representatives of the Ngunnawal people, the traditional owners of this land where we are meeting today;
The Hon Ioteba Redfern, Minister of Labour and Human Resources Development of the Government of the Republic of Kiribati, and your delegation;
The Hon Lisiate 'Akolo, Minister for Labour, Commerce and Industries of the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga, and your delegation;
His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Tupouto’a Lavaka, the Tongan High Commissioner to Australia;
Mr Lionel Kaluat, Commissioner for Labour, Government of the Republic of Vanuatu;
senior officials of the Papua New Guinea and New Zealand Governments;
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
It seems fitting that I’m speaking to you today on the one-year anniversary of the election of the Australian Government under Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. A year ago today, we came into government with a determination to strengthen the important relationships we have with our neighbours in the Pacific.
Since that time the Government has worked hard to turn that commitment to our Pacific relationships into concrete initiatives of mutual benefit to our countries. The Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme, which I have had the pleasure of being closely involved in during its development, and about which I will talk more in a moment, is an important demonstration of this strengthened Pacific engagement.
A new era of Australia-Pacific cooperation
We are in the opening phase of what Prime Minister Rudd, described earlier this year as a ‘new era of cooperation with the island nations of the Pacific’.
In his landmark Port Moresby Declaration on 6 March, Mr Rudd spoke not only of the common challenges that Australia and its Pacific neighbours face, but of our commitment to achieve ‘shared goals’.
He set the tone for this Government’s approach to our Pacific neighbours: hopeful, positive, practical and imbued with respect.
He promised practical assistance to our neighbours in tackling the critical issue of climate change.
He gave voice to our commitment to engage as partners, as equals, by announcing the Pacific Partnerships for Development. Through these cooperative partnerships, Australia stands ready to provide more development assistance to Pacific Island nations, in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
The Prime Minister committed the Australian Government to working with the Pacific island nations to raise the standard of living for people throughout the region—through initiatives in employment, education, trade, health and governance.
The Government’s renewed focus on the Pacific reflected a strong popular sentiment amongst Australians.
In April, at the 2020 Summit convened here in Canberra, Australia’s relationship with its Pacific neighbours emerged as a major theme in the working group discussing ‘Australia’s Future in the World’.
Echoing public comments by members of the Government, parliamentarians and the business community—and, of course, public debate in the Pacific island countries themselves—that group envisaged Australia fostering comprehensive engagement in the Pacific, including through trade liberalisation and labour mobility.
There was substantial and very positive debate on the details of a possible labour mobility program.
Three months ago, having carefully studied the idea, the Government announced the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot scheme.
Our initiative was warmly welcomed by many Pacific island nations, including at the August 2008 Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting in Niue. It was also well received in communities throughout Australia.
Since then, Australian officials have worked closely with their partners in the Pacific, visiting potential participating countries to negotiate Memoranda of Understanding with the Republic of Kiribati, the Kingdom of Tonga and the Republic of Vanuatu.
It will be my privilege to bring those efforts to fruition in signing these Memoranda of Understanding with our Pacific partners.
At the same time, I look forward to Australia’s officials continuing talks tomorrow with representatives from Papua New Guinea on that country’s preparations for early entry to the pilot scheme.
Subject to the progress made in our preparations, I look forward to PNG’s participation in the pilot scheme during the course of next year.
Labour mobility in the Pacific: the development context
I am delighted that the Pacific Seasonal Worker pilot has received so very positive a reception. It is a highly worthwhile initiative.
But it is not—and I know none of you see it as—a panacea for the complex challenges of unemployment and economic development in the Pacific.
The issue of labour mobility has to be considered in the wider context of other development initiatives being taken forward—both bilaterally and through important regional institutions such as the Pacific Islands Forum.
It is part of a strategic approach to national and regional development.
I’d like to recall here that Leaders of the Pacific Island Forum have agreed on a Pacific Plan which is based on four pillars.
These are economic growth, sustainable development, good governance and security.
This plan has Australia’s full support.
Our approach to seasonal labour, like that of New Zealand, is intended to complement the Pacific island nations’ own integrated development planning.
From an Australian perspective, initiatives like this pilot seasonal labour scheme are part of a comprehensive new approach to deepening our bilateral partnerships and strengthening our overall engagement with the region.
One element of that engagement is development assistance to the Pacific, amounting to just under $1 billion for 2008-09.
This is designed to drive economic growth, and to build the skills and infrastructure—as well as the trade, regulatory and investment policies—that support sustainable development.
We came to Government determined to foster a more effective and collaborative approach to regional developmental challenges.
In that spirit, we are closely coordinating our efforts not only with our close friends in New Zealand, but also with Japan, the United States, France, the European Union, and leading international institutions such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
We will also be encouraging and engaging new and emerging donors, and asking them to play a positive and constructive role in the region.
However, it is important to recognise that development assistance is only one component of our approach.
We believe that the more Pacific nations are integrated into the wider global community, and the freer the flow of goods, services and investments within the Pacific, the better the prospects of genuine, stable and long‑term economic growth in our region.
In our view, regional economic growth would be substantially boosted by the ultimate conclusion of a regional free trade agreement—the ‘PACER Plus’ proposal.
We were pleased that, at the recent Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Niue, Leaders agreed that pursuing greater economic integration should be a regional priority. They agreed to work towards the commencement of negotiations on PACER Plus at their next Forum Leaders meeting in 2009.
As my colleague Simon Crean, the Minister for Trade, recently said, our aim with PACER Plus is to help our neighbours to engage more deeply with the regional economy, and to do so in a way that helps them take full advantage of the opportunities of greater market access.
In helping to bring about the PACER Plus community, Australia will work with interested countries on initiatives to strengthen their national capacities to trade within the region and beyond, and to put their economies on a more sustainable footing.
Labour mobility pilot
There is a common temptation to regard labour mobility schemes as simple, easy solutions to the twin problem of labour shortages in a given host country’s key industries, and a lack of employment opportunities in other countries.
However, this does not take into account the human and organisational complexities of any labour mobility scheme. These complexities include administrative and immigration arrangements, cross-cultural issues, workers’ rights, and market and economic realities – in both host countries’ and employees’ home countries.
Simply stated, our challenge will be to develop a regulatory framework that would allow any scheme to be both fair and efficient, at the same time as protecting the interests of those most directly involved.
The New Zealand Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme.
As I have said on previous occasions, the Australian Government has been closely examining New Zealand’s seasonal labour policy, the Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme or RSE.
We’re very grateful to the New Zealand Government for so generously sharing its experience and expertise with us.
It is noteworthy that, after one year of the RSE’s operation, New Zealand has announced a number of improvements.
They include pre-departure briefings, planned pastoral care, and movement between employers. We’ve taken note of these changes and, as a result, many of them will also feature in Australia’s Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot scheme.
Our own scheme will not compete directly with New Zealand for the same workers - notwithstanding the normal and entirely healthy competition between Australia and New Zealand on and off the sporting field!
It’s my hope that the Australian pilot scheme might match or perhaps even exceed the excellent record in New Zealand, where nearly 80 per cent of seasonal workers have been welcomed back for a second season. That return rate capitalises on the valuable skills these workers have developed in-country.
I should stress that Australia’s Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme will be demand-driven by Australia’s industry. It will only work if there is a real demand for real jobs.
Australia’s Horticulture industry
Let me talk about one such area of demand.
Horticulture in Australia is a labour-intensive, seasonal industry characterised by small-scale family farms that are increasingly becoming medium-to-large operations.
Australia’s horticulture industry comprises approximately 30,000 growers and employs an estimated 130,000 people. Its farm gate value is $8 billion, and much of its produce is exported.
Labour makes up approximately half the cost of production—depending on the particular industry, and the availability of workers is a significant factor in the success of Australia’s horticulture enterprises.
Surveys conducted by the Australian Government have shown that nearly 20 per cent of growers in Australia have difficulty filling all their picking and packing vacancies.
We have also found that staff turnover and reliability seriously affects horticulture and fruit enterprises across all surveyed regions.
Many growers indicated that high staff turnover significantly increased their training, monitoring and administrative costs.
According to some growers, it takes around a week for a new worker to reach average productivity. The average stay for a backpacker working as a picker or a packer was reported as being between two weeks and a month.
Reliability of these workers can also be a significant issue: absenteeism, or resigning without giving notice, are common.
As a result of these issues, and with its promise of a predictable, reliable workforce, the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme has strong support from the Australian horticulture industry.
The Global Economic Crisis
I realise I am speaking to you against the backdrop of a continuing global economic crisis that is expected to blunt growth across the world.
While growth in the world economy is slowing rapidly, with Europe and Japan already in recession in Australia we are better placed than most to weather the storm.
No country is immune from the effects of the global financial crisis, but we’re confident that the strength of Australia’s financial system and the actions that the Government has taken in response to the crisis will help insulate Australia and, in turn, help insulate the Pacific region from the full impact of the crisis.
In this context, it is also important that we recognise the importance of ensuring this pilot scheme is successful – both for Australia and for the Pacific. There are some who wish to see this pilot fail however the Australian Government has worked hard with our counterparts to develop a robust framework, which will bring benefits to all involved.
I encourage you to work with us to ensure these benefits are realised by our communities.
Australia is committed to a secure and stable Pacific. And continuing economic growth and reform is critical in meeting the development challenges we all face.
Closer economic integration underpinned by strong trade links, initiatives such as this labour scheme, and development of the Pacific’s private sector will further strengthen our collective economic stability.
Conclusion
Australia’s Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme will operate on a smaller scale than the New Zealand RSE scheme. But we are determined to ensure it works well from the outset, in the hope that it will be expanded in future years.
We want it to help enable workers from the Pacific to contribute to economic development in their home countries, through employment experience, remittances, and through on-the-job training.
At the same time, we want the scheme to help Australian growers and farmers find more reliable and efficient workers during critical harvest times.
I believe this pilot will also help build stronger people-to-people relationships and better understanding between Australian communities and those of our neighbours and friends in the Pacific.
I am confident that the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme will make an important contribution to advancing our shared future together and we look forward to working with you to ensure its success.
Thank you.
[Ends]
Media inquiries: Mr Kerr's office - 02 6277 4991
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