Press conference, Tonga

Speaker: Okay, everyone. Thank you for joining us this afternoon. [indistinct] for joining us this afternoon as well. Today we will hear from Minister for International Development in the Pacific, the Honourable Pat Conroy MP, and Director-General of the UN International Organisation for Migration, Ms Amy Pope. There will be short remarks and questions to follow. Thank you.

Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy: Excellent. Well, thank you for joining us, ladies and gentlemen. I acknowledge the presence here of the Lord Vaea, Minister for Internal Affairs in the Kingdom of Tonga. We are honoured by your presence, sir, and your continued hosting of the PIF in the beautiful country. I acknowledge and thank Amy Pope, Director-General of the International Organisation of Migration, for her presence here today as well, and for being a key part of the new announcement that we're here for.

For many of you here, you would be familiar with the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme, PALM. The PALM Scheme has around 35,000 participants from the Pacific and Timor Leste in it. It's critical to the economic future of Australia by filling labour shortages, particularly in regional Australia, and we're so, so grateful for the Pacific Island workers and their families for helping us fill those labour shortages in critical parts of regional Australia.

The beauty of the PALM scheme is that it's not just about filling labour shortages for Australia. It's about obviously those workers earning strong remittances, earning strong income, and remitting that back to their home country. The latest data that I've seen is that the average long-term PALM worker sends home AUD$15,000 each year. $15,000 each year into a region where half the population live on AUD$1,000 a year. So this is lifting individuals out of poverty, it's lifting families and villages out of poverty through this contribution.

Importantly, we're also putting in place strong skilling elements into the scheme, whether it's on-the-job training, training before deployment, or training afterwards, the Albanese Labor government is very committed to skilling Pacific workers who are participating in the scheme, including through the expanding into other sectors. So, we have our pilot of 500 aged care workers; each of them will receive a Certificate III in aged care, which is the same as an Australian doing that job, and they come home to their home country with very important qualifications.

Other changes we've made are increasing support, increasing compliance, making it an ironclad requirement that they're paid Australian wages and conditions and including being paid the same as an Australian doing the job next to them.

So the PALM Scheme, when done properly, is truly a win/win. It's a win for Australia, it's a win for the Pacific workers and it's a win for their community. But we also do acknowledge that it imposes a lot of burdens on families and individuals. Some of the individuals can be separated from their families for up to four years, and in some countries we have a very significant proportion of their population in Australia, and that obviously has an element of disruption to communities.

So, we're constantly listening to the views of our partners, most notably the Tongan Government, listening to their views, listening to their concerns, always trying to improve the scheme. And that's why we're here today to announce an improvement to the scheme, which is an $8 million partnership with the International Organisation of Migration to run programs to support family support – to support families and to support the individuals.

That funding will allow the pilot project to cross three countries yet to be determined. That will include predeparture training courses for families as well as courses upon return of the worker to support reintegration into their community. This is all about supporting families and individuals to make the most of the opportunity and deal with the challenges involved with them.

If I can just finish with one small anecdote. I was in the Solomon Islands, and I met a returned meat worker. He was telling me that his three years in the scheme have lifted his family out of extreme poverty during the COVID pandemic, and he was so enthusiastic about the scheme, he'd come back to start a small business actually training people to go over and do PALM work.

So this scheme is working on the whole. There are challenges that we need to improve on, and the Australian Government will constantly be listening to the views and concerns of our partner countries in the Pacific and Timor Leste who are working very hard to refine the scheme. So, I'll hand it over to Amy for her remarks.

Director-General of UN International Organisation for Migration, Amy Pope: Thank you so much. First of all, I just want to thank the government of Australia for being an important partner in recognising both the value of well-managed migration and how migration can be a tool for development, but also recognising and responding to the concerns that we've heard from governments and migrant families about the impact of migration on their communities. So this is a direct response to the feedback that we have received, and they have received from the communities who participated in the PALM Scheme.

Now, at the International Organisation for Migration, we're working in over 180 countries around the world, and first and foremost our goal is to provide life-saving humanitarian support to communities who are in need. But we know that if we stop there and we don't look at what migration can bring, the benefits it can bring, we'd never enable the capacity and development of the human. Right, we'd never recognise the human dignity and human opportunity.

So, what are our core objectives? As a solution to drive answers to displacement is to facilitate more regular, well-managed migration, and that's what the PALM scheme does. The work we're doing with the Australian Government here today will make sure that we are able to better work with communities impacted by labour mobility, that we can better address some of the concerns that have emerged, especially around the separation of families, the impact on culture or tradition, whilst still providing much-needed labour and support to businesses in Australia.

We think this is a model that could be used in other parts of the world. We think this is a way to enable better development outcomes, both within Australia, which needs migration if it were to continue its own development and its own workforce needs, but also for the communities of the Pacific, where people who are living and working in Australia are not only sending remittances back, but they are bringing back skills, new ideas, new ways of working, and improving development outcomes in their own countries.

So we're very excited about this partnership, this pilot program, and we hope that it will provide a model that not only do we replicate with additional countries and the government of Australia, but around the world.

Minister Conroy: Thank you, Amy. Any questions on today's announcement first?

Speaker: Just on quantifying these agreed travel --

Minister Conroy: Any questions on this announcement today first?

Speaker: Mine is very similar to theirs, people coming to Australia to work for three years and families wanting to come and see them in Australia, which is what you've just referenced about families being together. And they can't access Australia because they can't get visas or find it very difficult to come and see their family in Australia. How is Australia addressing this, so we do get the workers to come to Australia but also have the answers for their relatives to come and see them [indistinct]?

Minister Conroy: I will let you, since I cut you off, ask a similar question.

Speaker: You did such a good job at explaining the scheme. I mean, it is on visa free travel, it's been [indistinct] the PALM [indistinct], but there are a lot of separated families that are people that need to come to Australia for funerals, rugby finals, in conferences. Does Australia have the ambition to move closer to an integrated visa scheme that will just somehow make it easier for certain people to come to Australia?

Minister Conroy: I will address these two questions and then answer other questions. A couple of things. One, we're constantly in search of how to improve our visa scheme. We've cut down visa processing times very significantly in the Pacific and it's been a key outcome of our bilateral relationship with many countries. If you can – and I will get my office to provide some statistics after the press conference, but PNG is a classic example where we cut down visa processing time dramatically.

On the broader question about family disruption, obviously this scheme goes to supporting impact of families. We also announced as part of our ground-breaking Pacific Strategy in the lead up to the 2022 federal election, a family reunion pilot for long-term PALM workers. Obviously there's two streams of PALM. A big chunk of PALM workers are on the shorter term 9-month program, and they're typically in the fruit picking, horticultural sectors, and then there's a scheme for up to four years. We're trialling a project of 200 families accompanying those workers on the long-term scheme. Importantly, we've put in place strong social supports around those families so that they have access to things like Medicare when they're in Australia. We'll see what that pilot comes back with. So we're tackling it on both fronts - support for families here, better, faster visa processing times, and the trial of 200 families.

Speaker: So, the PALM scheme has been labelled as modern-day slavery. South Pacific Islanders, a few, like facing allegations of unjust and unfair treatment from their employers. What is the Australian Government doing to ensure that, as you take our people away from the region, they are safeguarded, they're protected under whatever policies that Australia has? 
Minister Conroy: Yeah. Let me address that in a series of steps because it's a very serious accusation that does get levelled, that I obviously reject utterly for a couple of reasons.

One, I acknowledge our history of things like blackbirding. It's very important to acknowledge the history of Australia with use of workers from the Pacific, and we had the 30th anniversary recently recognising South Sea Islanders as a distinct cultural group in Australia. So I'm very conscious of the history of Australia in this area. It's very important to acknowledge that.

I'll make a couple of points. Everyone who participates in this scheme does so voluntarily. They choose to participate in the scheme. Each Pacific country has full control on who they approve to send to Australia. It's a very important question – statement. Secondly, the scheme requires employers to pay Australian wages and conditions. Australian wages and conditions. Importantly, we then made a further change, as the incoming Labor government, to require them not just to pay minimum wages and conditions for legal minimum Australian, to pay exactly the same as an Australian worker under an enterprise agreement doing the same job. So if there is a worker from the Solomon Islands in the meat works next to an Australian meat worker, they must get paid exactly the same amount of money.

Importantly, because we do recognise that there are some unscrupulous employers out there, we've put lots of money into compliance. So, our Budget last year put in over $200 million into support for compliance. We ramped up action within the Department of Workplace Relations in terms of inspections. We've empowered the Fair Work Ombudsman to be much more active in this area, and we're engaged in more country liaison officers, because we recognise that for a lot of Pacific workers, it's a lot easier to talk to someone from their country about what they're experiencing than someone from the Australian Government.

So, we're very conscious of our history in this area. But this scheme, if done correctly, is a win/win where workers send home on average $15,000 a year, get skills, start businesses in their home country, and fill labour shortages in Australia. Obviously, there are some cases of abuse, like there are cases of abuse of Australian workers, and we will always act to spot those out because they are unacceptable. Any other –

Speaker: A slight change in tack. What progress does Australia hope to make this week on the Pacific Policing Initiative? And also a second question, how adequate do you think the consultation has been with all the Pacific Island states about – because there seems to be some concern that Australia has, quote, 'steamrolled' some Pacific States on this?

Minister Conroy: Well, I can say to you that no minister or leader of a Pacific government has said that to me. What I can refer you to is, and I'm very conscious of not getting ahead of deliberations of Pacific leaders, because that would be disrespectful, but I can say to you that obviously the Foreign Ministers' communique endorsed – I don't have the exact words – either endorsed or acknowledged intention of the PIF chair, the Prime Minister of Tonga, to bring the Pacific Policing Initiative proposal to the PIF leaders.

This is something that's been developed by the Pacific, this is Pacific-led, and that's incredibly strong. It builds on Prime Minister Rabuka's discussions around 'oceans of peace' that he raised last year. It builds on the very generous offer from the Papua New Guinea Government at the PIF last year to be a regional training hub for Pacific police forces.

So, I would reject any accusation – any claim that this is something that Australia is driving. This is firmly Pacific-led and we'll see where the deliberations are, but obviously we'll just respect the outcome of the PIF leaders. We're here to listen and act on the priorities of the Pacific and support the spirit of the 22 Pacific Communique which says if there's any gaps in security in the Pacific, it should be filled from within the Pacific.

Any other questions on this? Because I'm conscious I've got an IOM representative here and I don't want to Amy to be caught in crossfire of the Australian Government.

Speaker: What is Australia's position on the French diplomatic -

Minister Conroy: I will answer that after this.

Speaker: Thank you. Tess Newton Cain from Vanuatu Daily Post. Going back to the issue of Pacific workers in Australia, there's a distinct lack of unionisation or availability of union protection for these workers which I think runs into resistance in the agricultural industry about unionisation more generally. What can the Australian Government say about that, and would you accept that increased access to unionisation would provide [indistinct] protection to [indistinct] workers?

Minister Conroy: I meet regularly with Australian union workers and Pacific union leaders about the PALM scheme, and ultimately, it's up for each country to decide how they handle their pre-departure process. But we would encourage the unions of Pacific countries, where relevant, to be involved in the pre-departure process, if that's something that the Pacific governments are comfortable with. And in Australia to have full access to our unions and the rights to organise as every Australian does. And I meet regularly with people like the Māori Workers Union on [indistinct] issues there and they do a very good job for advocating for the interests of Pacific Island workers. Any other questions on the actual announcement?

Amy Pope: Can I just add that this particular announcement is directly responsive to the fact that we've heard from the government of Tonga and others – and I would like to acknowledge the leadership role of the government of Tonga, not only here in the Pacific Island Forum but in advocating for the inclusion of family members for a more comprehensive approach to the PALM labour scheme to make sure that we're really seeing benefits for all people when it comes to work benefits of labour mobility. So thank you so much for your work and your responsiveness to their concerns.

Minister Conroy: Thank you, Amy.

Speaker: I will ask another question. You mentioned that this will be trialled in three countries, but those countries aren't yet named. Will Tonga be one of those countries?

Amy Pope: I will say we'll consult first with the Government of Tonga about inclusion in that program. So we want to first start with engaging the governments directly to make sure that this is consistent with their own national priorities. But Tonga is one of the first on the list to have discussions with.

Speaker: And when will we find out who those three countries are?

Minister Conroy: We're working through the design process now, and it's important to acknowledge that Tonga probably has the greatest percentage of the population in PALM. Fiji's the highest by numbers – it would be Fiji, then Vanuatu, and then I'm pretty sure it's Tonga. But if you look at the percentage of population, Tonga is streaks ahead of anyone else and we need to acknowledge more through those challenges. But codesign consultation is important principles that we're going to engage with.

So, we might let Amy step to the left [indistinct] and I will answer your questions.

So Australia welcomes the agreement of France for a delegation from the Pacific Islands Forum to visit New Caledonia, and we urge all parties, particularly France and New Caledonia, to reach agreement on the program and the approach to that delegation, that's very important.

We're not going to get ahead of the Pacific Island Forum leaders on this, and we'll wait and see the outcome over the next two days, but our position is obviously that we welcome that delegation and we think the PIF has a very strong role in helping resolve the challenges in New Caledonia. Thank you very much for attending today.