TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY
SECTORS — LABOUR SHORTAGE
1076. Hon KEN BASTON to the minister representing the
Minister for Tourism:
I
refer to the WA government's 5 October media statement regarding a partnership
with Virgin and Qantas, delivering 50 000 affordable airfares to Broome,
Exmouth and Kununurra.
Has the minister or any other member
of the Western Australian government made representations to the federal government requesting policy changes that would
allow people on a working holiday, specifically subclass 417 visa
holders, to remain in northern WA in order to support the tourism and
hospitality sectors?
Hon
ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:
I
thank the member for notice of the question. The following information has been
provided by the Minister for Tourism.
On
16 September 2020, I requested that the Small Business Development Corporation
draft a letter to Hon Peter Dutton MP,
Minister for Home Affairs, about critical labour shortages in tourism and
hospitality and requesting he consider policy changes, and I quote from
the letter —
I understand that the definition of ''critical
sectors'' under this visa does not include those working in the tourism
and hospitality industries.
One
suggestion that has been made by various stakeholders to increase the number of
available workers in regional Western
Australia during these unprecedented times is to amend the definition of ''critical
sectors'' to also include the tourism and hospitality industry
(or alternatively all industries) in defined areas of regional Western Australia.
It has also been brought to my
attention that holders of the Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa are able to
accrue their three and six month regional working requirements, which enable
them to apply for a second or third year working holiday visa within the
tourism and hospitality sector, whilst holders of the Working Holiday Makers
(subclass 417) visa are not. Would the Federal Government also consider varying
the conditions of the subclass 417 visa to also allow this?
This
draft letter was received by my office late last week and the final version has
been dispatched to Minister Dutton.