Around 30,000 people from Pacific Island nations and Timor Leste hold PALM visas, which allow them to work in Australia on a temporary basis, but widespread "disengagement" means thousands are left to survive in Australia without a formal visa.
Today, Welcoming Communities and the Mayoral Alliance for the Pacific will convene a forum at Australian Parliament House to call on the Commonwealth government to reform visa conditions to give workers genuine freedom to change employers, improve access to healthcare, and expand family-inclusion to build fairer, stronger communities.
Title: PALM Futures Forum: Community-centred Visa Reform
Time: 11:00am - 1:00pm
Location: Parliament House Canberra
Australia Institute research shows that the PALM scheme generates almost $1 billion in economic value, but less than $200 million ends up being remitted to the Pacific.
Quotes attributable to Aleem Ali, CEO of Welcoming Communities.
"Fair work should mean exactly that. Yet the PALM Scheme falls short for people from the Pacific working in our farms, factories and aged care homes.
"The PALM Futures Forum brings together workers, unions, employers, community members, researchers and policymakers to deliver better outcomes for everyone. The Forum seeks to shift the "Pacific Family" rhetoric into action and ensure that Pacific workers can access the same rights as their Australian colleagues.
"Through the Mayoral Alliance for the Pacific, we've brought together 20 Mayors and regional councils who are grappling with the everyday benefits and challenges of the PALM Scheme. Together, we are urging the Federal Government to modernise visa conditions so workers have genuine mobility, better healthcare access, and stronger pathways for family inclusion."
Quotes attributable to Morgan Harrington, Research Manager at The Australia Institute
"Most Australians would be appalled to learn of the conditions enabled by this guestworker scheme, which ties participants to a single employer. The control that employers have over wages, conditions, accommodation, and transportation creates a power imbalance that has left thousands of people with little other choice than to try their luck in Australia in breach of their visa conditions. In the land of the fair go, this is unacceptable.
"Disengagement is a problem for Australia and it's a problem for the Pacific. One way or the other, Australia is going to have to reckon with the thousands of people who came into the country legally but have since been left to slip into the shadows. Meanwhile, people in the Pacific are missing loved ones who might find themselves stuck in Australia even if they have done nothing wrong. This problem, and the people caught up in it, cannot be left to rot."
