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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/nov/05/australia-to-relax-working-holiday-visas-to-ease-farm-jobs-shortage
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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Australia to relax working holiday visas for backpackers and Pacific Islanders | Australia to relax working holiday visas for backpackers and Pacific Islanders |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Backpackers and other visitors on working holidays will be able to stay in Australia longer under a federal government plan to help farmers fill job shortages. | Backpackers and other visitors on working holidays will be able to stay in Australia longer under a federal government plan to help farmers fill job shortages. |
| But the prime minister, Scott Morrison, has flatly ruled out calls to scrap the backpacker tax to attract more foreign workers. | |
| Backpackers will no longer need to leave jobs every six months and will be able to triple the length of their stay if they do extra agricultural work. | Backpackers will no longer need to leave jobs every six months and will be able to triple the length of their stay if they do extra agricultural work. |
| Pacific Islanders taking up seasonal work will be able to stay three months longer and the age limit for working holiday visas for some countries will be lifted to 35. | |
| The changes come after the Nationals failed to deliver a promised agricultural visa and Morrison’s attempt to force unemployment benefits recipients to pick fruit was dismissed by the industry. | |
| On Monday, the prime minister insisted the stalled ideas were not dead and buried, framing the relaxed visa rules as an immediate fix to a pressing problem. | |
| “We need to ensure we get as many Australians into these jobs as we possibly can,” he told reporters at a strawberry farm in south-east Queensland. “But we’ve also got to make sure that we actually get the job done.” | |
| A rule that forced some backpackers to work in northern Australia is also being dumped, allowing them to work in a far wider range of regions. | |
| Some 419,000 backpackers visited Australia last year, spending $920m in regional towns. Morrison is hopeful the visa changes will push this figure above $1bn. | |
| “They don’t go home with any money in their pocket,” he said. “Everything they earn here, they spend here.” | |
| Morrison replied firmly “No” when asked whether he was considering eliminating the 15% tax on working holiday-makers. | |
| “When people come and they work, they pay tax,” he said. “We all pay tax when we work. If other people come here and they work, they pay tax too. And they pay it at a concessional rate, and I think it’s a pretty fair deal.” | |
| The Labor frontbencher Andrew Leigh was sceptical about what he described as a “short-sighted” announcement. | The Labor frontbencher Andrew Leigh was sceptical about what he described as a “short-sighted” announcement. |
| A report published last week found backpackers in Australia, about a third of whom are paid less than $12 an hour, are owed billion dollars in unpaid wages. | A report published last week found backpackers in Australia, about a third of whom are paid less than $12 an hour, are owed billion dollars in unpaid wages. |
| “The government needs to be very clear about how it’s going to deal with those abuses and how it’s going to create more opportunities for Australians to work in agricultural work,” Leigh told Sky News. | “The government needs to be very clear about how it’s going to deal with those abuses and how it’s going to create more opportunities for Australians to work in agricultural work,” Leigh told Sky News. |
| The deputy prime minister and Nationals leader, Michael McCormack, denied the changes were an admission his party’s push for an agricultural visa was dead in the water. | The deputy prime minister and Nationals leader, Michael McCormack, denied the changes were an admission his party’s push for an agricultural visa was dead in the water. |
| “It was always going to be difficult to get a specific ag visa in time for this harvest but we are working towards making sure there are more permanent arrangements in place,” McCormack said. “At the end of the day, what needed to happen was we needed to have the workers on the ground to pick the fruit and pick the crops. | “It was always going to be difficult to get a specific ag visa in time for this harvest but we are working towards making sure there are more permanent arrangements in place,” McCormack said. “At the end of the day, what needed to happen was we needed to have the workers on the ground to pick the fruit and pick the crops. |
| “We will make sure good workers can come again. That’s all farmers want.” | “We will make sure good workers can come again. That’s all farmers want.” |
| Australia’s agricultural sector has almost doubled in value into a $63.4bn industry over the past decade. | Australia’s agricultural sector has almost doubled in value into a $63.4bn industry over the past decade. |
| Australian immigration and asylum | Australian immigration and asylum |
| Migration | Migration |
| Agriculture | Agriculture |
| South Pacific | South Pacific |
| Rural Australia | Rural Australia |
| Australian politics | Australian politics |
| news | news |
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