Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and Pacific Island Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the establishment and ongoing implementation of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, a significant bipartisan initiative designed to address chronic workforce shortages in regional and rural Australia;

(2) recognises the role of the former Government in consolidating the Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme into the unified PALM scheme in 2021, streamlining Pacific labour mobility and enhancing regional cooperation;

(3) notes that the PALM scheme provides a vital workforce for Australian farmers, growers, food processors, and regional businesses, particularly in horticulture, meat processing and essential services—sectors that face ongoing labour constraints;

(4) further recognises the mutual benefits of the PALM scheme, delivering reliable employment and remittance opportunities to workers from nine Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste, while strengthening Australia's diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties with our Pacific family; and

(5) affirms Australia's responsibility as a regional partner, upholding its moral and regional leadership responsibility as a trusted partner in Pacific development.

I rise to speak today in support of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme, known to many as the PALM scheme, which has been a significant and positive force in supporting Australia's regional and rural employers and building stronger relationships with our Pacific island neighbours and Timor-Leste. The PALM scheme is a significant bipartisan initiative. It allows Australian employers, particularly those in rural and regional areas, to access a reliable pool of workers from nine Pacific island nations and Timor-Leste.

Introduced in April 2022 by the Morrison coalition government—and I acknowledge the former minister, the member for Riverina, for the great work he did in this space—the PALM scheme replaced earlier programs, the Seasonal Worker Program and the Pacific Labour Scheme, and in doing so it brought together the best of both worlds: economic opportunity for our Pacific neighbours and a reliable workforce for Australian employers. This scheme is truly a win-win for both Australia and our Pacific family.

Australian businesses benefit from the productivity and dependability of the PALM workers. Meanwhile, the Pacific and Timor-Leste nations gain valuable skills and, importantly, income, which they send back to their families through remittance. This money is critically important to these communities. It supports families, strengthens communities and lifts entire economies. According to data published last year, $212 million in remittances and superannuation flowed back to Pacific nations and Timor-Leste from long-term PALM workers, which is absolutely fantastic for their communities. Short-term workers remit on average $1,061 a month to their families, which has proven critical in supporting the livelihoods of those workers and, in particular, their families.

The economic benefits to Australia are substantial too. According to the Australia Institute brief published in September 2024, approximately 31,000 PALM workers in Australia contributed nearly $1 billion to our economy through living expenses and taxes. However, while we celebrate the success of the PALM scheme, we must also confront the challenges that have emerged under the Labor government which threaten its effectiveness.

In 2023 Labor imposed a minimum requirement that PALM workers must be guaranteed 30 paid hours every week. This decision totally disregards the seasonal and weather-dependent nature of farm work. Forcing a flat minimum of 30 hours per week every week was simply not workable. Industry bodies warned the government that this was inflexible and would cause employers to walk away. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened. The number of PALM workers in agriculture fell by a whopping 20 per cent in just a little over a year, threatening the sustainability of the scheme. Thankfully, after pressure from the coalition and industry groups, the Labor government introduced a partial backflip. The July 2024 guidelines amended the minimum hours of work for short-term workers from 30 hours per week averaged over four weeks to 120 hours over that same time period. This was a necessary and welcome step forward, but it should never have happened in the first place.

But this is only a temporary fix. The current August 2025 guidelines extend this averaging provision only to 31 March 2026. After that, as things stand, the scheme will revert to the rigid 30 hours minimum every week. The government has offered no clear position or permanent solution beyond that date, leaving farmers and workers in a state of uncertainty. This is totally unacceptable for farmers and they need clarity. Workers need flexibility and our Pacific neighbours need continuity. We need a policy that understands the realities of seasonal, weather-dependent work, preferably extending the averaging period to eight or even twelve weeks, as industry bodies have suggested.

The PALM scheme is too important to Australia, and too important to the Pacific, to be compromised. I urge the government to listen to industry, to engage constructively with all those stakeholders and to commit to a permanent, flexible framework that ensures the scheme's ongoing success. Let us protect the PALM scheme for our farmers, our neighbours and, in particular, our future. When it comes to the PALM scheme, why is it so important to Australian farmers? Because, quite often, we find the average Australian doesn't want to do this work. This is where our Pacific Islander friends come to do the heavy lifting, to save farmers and make sure their farms are profitable and to make sure that food and veggies get on the table of Australians. This is something that's so important—and, as I said before, it is very much also of benefit for our Pacific neighbours, who obviously take the funds they make in Australia back home to support their families.

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