AGRICULTURE —
JOBS
1117. Hon SIMON O'BRIEN to the Minister for
Agriculture and Food:
I refer to the public call by Hon Dr
Steve Thomas on 24 August for the state to take up the federal government's
offer to deliver a Pacific Island–type
solution similar to the one announced in the Northern Territory to address the
impending shortfall of agricultural workers in Australia.
(1) Does the
minister agree that this is a good idea and will she move swiftly to implement
it?
(2) If yes to
(1), how many workers would be facilitated to enter Western Australia under any
such program?
(3) How would
that facilitation occur?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I thank the member for the question.
I think it probably qualifies as a dorothy dixer.
(1)–(3) We
said immediately after the Northern Territory trial was announced that we would
look at the success of that trial, and indeed we have. We have developed a program
that responds to that. We have indicated that we are prepared to engage in the
reinstated Pacific Island workers scheme. Recently—I think it was only
earlier this week—the federal government announced that it was again reopening
the scheme to residents of Timor-Leste. We have indicated that we are certainly
prepared to embrace those workers. We will obviously need to keep the state
safe and strong by having adequate quarantine provisions. We have been
negotiating and had discussions now for some time with the Northern Territory
government about that. Certainly in relation to those Ni-Vanuatu who are
already in the Northern Territory, we have indicated that when they are done
with the mangoes in the Northern Territory, which we expect will be some time
at the end of this month or early next month, they would be welcome here.
Obviously, we are going to assess what the appropriate on-farm arrangements
might be for those workers. We have also asked the Northern Territory government
to consider counting us in on the third cohort that it is planning, and we
would be prepared to share costs with it. We have also indicated that we would
then wish another 200 East Timorese to come over between now and the end of the
year through the Howard Springs quarantine facility. Those arrangements are
being negotiated with the Northern Territory government.