Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I think I was being extremely relevant, because I was talking about the numbers and I was only 30 seconds into the answer. If I continue—and I thank Senator Wong for her extreme courtesy in this case—in relation to the numbers, Australia remains firmly committed to the growth of the Seasonal Worker Program and the new Pacific Labour Scheme. Experience from the Seasonal Worker Program indicate strong growth over time. Now in its 11th year, with over 12,000 workers in 2018-19, the program granted 56 visas in the first pilot year. Ten countries are now participating in both the Seasonal Worker Program and the Pacific Labour Scheme. There are workers from Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The program has achieved an average annual growth rate of over 40 per cent since 2012. The Pacific Labour Scheme has processed and approved 50 employers in the first year of operation. So that program has 50 employers in two years of operation, following a four-year pilot.