Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to briefly talk this evening about the bills that are before us here in the Senate. As a number of my colleagues have already outlined in the Senate today, Labor stands ready to pass the bills enabling the legislation for the JobKeeper payment. Labor has taken a very constructive approach to this, and it is really good to see, in a time of crisis, the major parties coming together for the betterment of our community.

We are living through an extraordinary crisis; there is no question about that. The coronavirus pandemic is unprecedented. It's clear that what we are doing as a parliament, the actions that we are all taking together as a community, is working to slow and, hopefully, stop the spread of the virus, and that is good news. But our community is not just impacted in terms of health; we are also impacted economically, as the steps that we must take to stop the spread force enormous change in the way that we work, where we go, what we do and how we interact with each other. Just as our community is working to keep as many people healthy and save as many lives as possible, we must work to protect as many livelihoods as possible as well. We are interested in getting a good outcome for the community, not engaging in political pointscoring with our opponents.

Labor moved amendments in the House of Representatives today to make the JobKeeper payment work for more Australians, to try and keep as many people employed as possible and to make the JobKeeper payment available to many thousands of temporary migrant workers, who our economy relies so much on. Many of my colleagues in the other place have already raised concerns for the situation of more than a million casual workers who will not be eligible for the JobKeeper payment. Many of my colleagues have also raised concerns for the wellbeing of temporary migrant workers, for international students and for many other non-permanent residents who will also not be eligible for the JobKeeper payment, and I endorse those remarks. Part of the bills before the Senate this evening is so that the Treasurer will have the power to expand the payment to other workers. I really do urge the Treasurer to make the JobKeeper payment available to the many casuals and temporary migrant workers who fall through the cracks.

Today I want to particularly focus on the plight of workers in agriculture. It's not hyperbole to say that without a strong and capable agriculture workforce we would be in a far trickier situation in relation to coronavirus than we currently find ourselves. In Australia we currently grow and produce enough food for our population three times over. Most Australians are only leaving their homes for essential reasons. For many of us, a quick stop at the supermarket or farmers market is the only outing we are taking. Our shopping lists are pretty simple: fresh fruit, vegies, a bit of meat, some pasta and, dare I say, hopefully some toilet paper as well.

This new way of life, where an outing to buy some groceries is something of a highlight, has many of us reflecting on what we buy and where it comes from. As I said in an opinion piece that was published today by The Weekly Times, this crisis has many Australians thinking about what it takes to get produce into a supermarket or a farmers market. We are reflecting on who milks the cows in my home state of Victoria, down in Gippsland. Who planted the apple trees in Shepparton? Who tended the grapes in the Mallee? Who picked the tomatoes in Mildura? Who fed the lambs in Bendigo and who made the cheese in Milawa? We are extremely lucky to have the farmers and workers in agriculture, growing what we eat. It means that we can continue to shop without panic but with confidence, knowing that we'll be able to get what we need during these very testing times.

There are approximately 40,000 temporary visa holders currently working in Australian agriculture. Some of those are skilled at undertaking complicated or scientific work on many Australian farms. However, many of them are doing low-skilled but absolutely critical work on farms across Australia. Whether that is picking and packing our fresh produce or not, all of it is essential, and I salute these workers for doing an absolutely wonderful job. These jobs are often filled by overseas seasonal workers or by backpackers who are travelling in Australia. Without these workers, we would face the possibility of produce being left to rot because there would be no-one else out there willing to pick the fruit or cut the vegetables.

The fact is that we as a nation rely on temporary visa workers, whether we like it or not. They pick and pack the fresh fruit and vegetables that we just conveniently grab off the shelves in supermarkets. None of us can afford to support temporary visa workers in agriculture, but I'm pleased that the government has offered opportunities for visa extensions to some Australian farm workers. This is, in fact, a step in the right direction. I really do want to acknowledge the work by many ministers on this front—in particular, Alan Tudge.

But we know that the coronavirus is not stopping to check someone's visa status, and this is a point that Labor has made through Senator Keneally time and time again. If a temporary visa holder can go home during this crisis, well, maybe they should. But the reality is that so many of them can't: 1.6 million temporary visa holders in Australia are not in a position to simply pack up and leave. There are many borders that have closed and, as we know, there just aren't any international flights leaving Australia or coming back here. They've simply shut down. What will happen if a temporary migrant can't afford to pay their rent? Or can't afford to get medical assistance? Or can't afford to pay for simple things, like groceries? Or can't afford to isolate themselves if they fall ill? We can, and we must, do more to support the situation that these temporary visa workers find themselves in. If a worker is here because we rely on them, and they cannot get home, then surely it is in our interest to support these workers. Surely it is in our interest to support them, be that financially. Surely it is in Australia's national interest to make sure that a temporary worker has access to financial support if they fall ill and are required to self-isolate. That is not to mention supporting the many farmers who will then have to ensure that there are provisions in place so that these workers themselves don't spread the virus to their workforce on site.

Again, I urge the government to expand the JobKeeper program to include casuals and temporary migrants because, in the case of farming and agriculture, we rely on them.