Coalition plans Pacific labour review

The Coalition was quizzed on its regional policies, including foreign aid, the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme and the Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV).

The PEV is a lottery-style ballot offering up to 3000 permanent residency places each year. It has been incredibly popular — the first cohort has drawn more than 56,000 applications.

A Coalition spokeswoman declined to say whether it would commit to the scheme, first promised by Labor in opposition.

“The Coalition will review the operation of the Pacific Engagement Visa to ensure it meets needs of employers, workers and Pacific nations,” she said.

On PALM, the Coalition offered fulsome support, saying its importance to “thriving agriculture, meat processing, aged care, hospitality and tourism sectors cannot be overstated”.

When it works, the scheme is held up as a ‘win-win’ project supporting industry and Pacific workers who send remittances to their home communities.

It has also been abused by some employers, who have fallen short of pay or accommodation obligations.

Labor has heavily reformed the scheme, ditching an agriculture visa, mandating Pacific workers get the same pay levels as Australians in the same job, and a minimum 30-hour work week, among other changes.

Federal Nationals leader David Littleproud has previously heavily criticised the 30-hour commitment.

The Coalition has pledged to review the scheme, which now includes more than 30,000 workers in 500 workplaces across the country, including on farms and orchards in northern Victoria.

On Pacific aid spending, the Coalition is yet to detail future funding levels, fuelling suspicion of cuts.

“With little promised in terms of tax hikes or expenditure cuts, foreign aid must be a tempting target,” ANU Development Policy Centre director Stephen Howes said.

Mr Howes said “it is hard to believe that aid to the Pacific would be cut” given the developing region’s many needs and its strategic importance.

– with AAP.