Julia Irwin (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In April 2005 I was able to attend the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting in Manila. On the agenda of that meeting was the issue of global labour markets. There were calls by delegations from countries including India and the Philippines for countries such as Australia to open our labour markets to people from those countries. In speaking to the conference I explained that Australia has a long tradition of accepting migrants to our country rather than guest workers. I did, however, indicate my private view that there would be mutual benefit in allowing seasonal guest workers to come to Australia from South Pacific nations.

As it happened, the conference in Manila was followed by a bilateral visit to the Solomon Islands and that gave me the opportunity to see firsthand some of the ways in which the development of South Pacific nations could be assisted by allowing limited guest worker placements in Australia. Apart from providing much-needed remittances to families at home and the potential to save to improve private business opportunities, work in industries such as agriculture, forestry, tourism, hospitality and health care would greatly improve the economic and social development of Pacific states.

I have been pleased to see that the Labor government appears keen to trial guest worker arrangements for some Pacific states. I was also pleased to note that during last week’s visit to Australia by the Prime Minister of East Timor, Xanana Gusmao, the topic of guest worker programs was discussed. This came as a particularly pleasing development to me, as an earlier rebuff on the issue had led me to believe that guest worker programs were of less interest to developing states than I had at first thought. As it happened, shortly after the IPU meeting in Manila and the visit to the Solomons, I attended an East Timor Independence Day function in my electorate. The guest of honour at the function was the then foreign minister of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta, who is now the President.

Having recently discussed the topic of guest workers from developing countries, I took the opportunity of using my speech to extend the idea to East Timor. I told the gathering that such an arrangement with one of our nearest neighbours could have great benefit to both nations. I pointed out that participants would be able to develop a potential tourist industry, learn skills in hospitality and catering, and improve English language skills. To my surprise, when Ramos-Horta rose to speak, he rejected the proposal out of hand, insisting that East Timor look to Portugal and Europe for language and skills and that Australian involvement was not welcome. It seems, therefore, that the government of East Timor has had a change of heart, and there is hope that suitable programs can be developed which will lead to many young East Timorese benefiting from employment opportunities in Australia.

As I said at the beginning, Australia has traditionally preferred to supplement its workforce with permanent migration rather than guest workers, and I believe there remains a preference for migration. It follows that guest worker programs should be relatively small in scope and be seen to provide economic and social benefits to the nations providing the guest workers.

I have spoken about this issue to young people in my electorate, where there remains a stubborn pool of youth unemployment. The concern of many is that we should be providing employment opportunities for our own before admitting other young, unskilled workers. But, provided the schemes do not disadvantage young Australians, the benefits in promoting growth and stability in our neighbouring countries far outweigh any downside.

Through our armed forces, Australia has played a major role in bringing stability to our region. However, the best prospects for future security depend on economic growth and the development of civil society in countries that are our near neighbours. Well-planned and administered guest worker schemes which include training and protect the interests of participants as well as Australian youth can play a major role in the economic and social development of our region. There is much to be gained by all parties involved, and I would hope that trials of guest worker schemes can proceed in the near future.