Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, I present the corrigendum to the committee's report of the 45th Parliament entitled Report of the inquiry into efficacy of current regulation of Australian migration and education agents.

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, I present the committee's Interim report of the inquiry into the Working Holiday Maker program.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, I wish to make a statement concerning the committee's inquiry into the Working Holiday Maker program. In June 2020 the committee commenced an inquiry into the Working Holiday Maker program to examine the purpose and ongoing value of the program to Australia's economy, including the tourism, healthcare and agricultural sectors. The committee was tasked with inquiring into the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the program and the sectors affected by the disruptions of access to workers of the working holiday-maker visa.

The committee has received around 80 submissions from working holiday makers, businesses, organisations, industry bodies, academics and government agencies. Prior to the interim report we interviewed 70 witnesses and conducted nearly 25 hours of hearings.

Working holiday-maker visa holders make a significant contribution to the economy, not just for the work that they do but because of the economic contribution they make to the tourism and travel industry. Tourism Australia figures suggest the program is worth about $3.1 billion to the Australian economy, and it's estimated that 0.212 jobs are created for every working holiday maker who visits Australia. The committee heard that working holiday makers stay longer, spend more and visit regional Australia for longer than other visa holders.

While the Working Holiday Maker program remains a key cultural exchange program, the agricultural and horticultural industries have come to rely on working holiday makers, who play a substantial role in harvesting. The committee received evidence about an emerging shortage in the agricultural workforce. The National Farmers Federation told the committee that between 20 and 60 per cent of some farms' workforces are made up of working holiday makers. Given the number of working holiday makers in the country fell from approximately 150,000 in March 2020 to 70,000 in June 2020, the NFF stated: 'the industry will be confronted with a labour crisis, the likes of which it has never seen before.'

The evidence of Mr Craig Pressler, CEO of 2PH Farms in Emerald, Queensland indicated the drastic actions that farmers are already taking as a result of the predicted labour shortages. He said:

The need for labour is one of the critical needs at the moment and it's going to get more critical for us over the next 12 months, to the point where we have actually removed 100 hectares of trees and taken them out of production because we don't see there is going to be the need next harvest, there's no point spending up on the resources and time and money on those trees and then find we can't harvest them… it will take six to seven years [to get full production back]. 15 per cent of our income [will be] lost [representing]…many millions of dollars.

The shortage of working holiday-makers has arisen primarily because of border closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the importance of the agricultural and horticultural sectors not only to our economy but also to domestic and international food supply, we wanted the evidence we've already heard and our deliberations to help inform the parliament's response to labour shortages created by COVID-19.

This interim report contains recommendations for dealing with the present labour shortages, including the novel idea of developing a 'gap year at home' campaign to appeal to young Australians who might have chosen to travel overseas to instead see some of their own country and undertake work in the agricultural and horticultural sectors, with some incentives around a HECS-HELP discount. Ms Bree Grima, Director of Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers, told the committee of the success her organisation is already having with a similar program recruiting young Australians to pick fruit in their school holidays.

The committee received evidence that there are a range of barriers to getting unemployed Australians to take up agricultural work, including the short-term nature of the work and the location of the work making it difficult to attract people to move from city areas for short periods of time, given the kind of start-up costs in terms of finding accommodation and travel and so on. We also heard evidence that JobSeeker can act as a disincentive. The committee heard evidence that, prior to the addition of the coronavirus supplement to JobSeeker and the introduction of JobKeeper, farmers had significant inquiries from newly unemployed Australians, but those inquiries subsequently dried up. Consequently, we've recommended people be allowed to remain on JobSeeker while undertaking low-paid agricultural and horticultural work and a relocation allowance be provided to jobseekers to encourage them to go bush. We've also made recommendations about how to encourage other Australians, as well as temporary work visa holders residing in Australia, to take up work in agriculture and horticulture. Further recommendations about the structure of the program more broadly will be included in the final report, which will be handed down by the end of the year.

On behalf of the committee, I'd like to thank all those who've provided evidence to the committee so far. That evidence has informed this report and will also guide the final report. I commend the report to the House, and I move:

That the House take note of the report.

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