Comments

Juliet. Fair comment, we can only rely on analysis. Where do these figures come from & importantly who is collecting them & from whom are they being collected from. Short story company does covid temperature check on worker. 1.5 hrs later worker is at doctors in severe pain. Doctor says worker has severe temperature. Need to go to hospital. Worker taken to hospital admitted for emergency operation. Yet employer supervisor writes worker temperature normal. Did so for 4 days prior while worker said to my self I have been hot & cold for 5 days now. In my terminology that is called a fever. Hence my first & second sentence.

Juliet, many thanks for your comment. Our analysis is based on basic administrative data on approved employers. I have discussed the recent situation of seasonal workers in a 29 May blog 'How are seasonal workers in Australia faring behind closed borders?' https://devpolicy.org/how-are-seasonal-workers-in-australia-faring-behind-closed-borders-20200529/ From the feedback I have received, approved employers have made big efforts to support their workers, despite many feeling frustrated at the lack of support from government. Richard

I'm not sure that the larger contractors are that active here in the Goulburn Valley, the Pear and Apple growing region of Northern Victoria, however the growers in this area are very satisfied with the Seasonal workers that they employ. Somewhere around 100-200 workers come here from the Program directly employed by growers, who have built up relationships with their workers and are very pleased to have them come back on the 3 year 403 Visas. This would not be possible if there was Labour Hire Company involved telling the growers which workers they are allocated. It is of utmost importance to continue this program for eligible Approved employers Growers directly employing their selected workers.

One of the best blogs. Totally agree with Ms Milli. Best, Andy

Thanks for this post. I wonder whether it is possible to do an analysis of the extent to which labour hire companies fulfill their pastoral care and employment obligations - or if such an analysis has been done? I believe the SWP is extremely important - but the stories we hear from time to time of labour hire companies not fulfilling fairly basic obligations does disturb me - particularly during the pandemic.

It certainly is a well balanced and sensitively written article Dr Kama. We are onto getting it across PNG and to regional media too. One wonders though do issues on gender based violence need more and more exposure or is it time for a rethink/overhaul of programs working on transformational changes in this space. Be interesting also to see what amount of donor dollars for instance gets spent on GBV programs across the region and if any quantifiable change has resulted to that culture of violence that dominates our societies in the Pacific. Maybe it needs men prone to violence and those that care about men's lack of control, to take ownership of this violence and look within on why they're violent and that too against those that are closest to them, their partners and children? There has to be preventive measures as with NCD's for instance and not just care post the violence, no? It's a pretty messed up world, given all its vulnerabilities, as we see with COVID-19, when we need increased protection from ourselves and fellow humans, let alone our supposed loved ones too. And then we have those such as in Fiji, who will glorify and forgive rapists because they're a talented rugby player! But that's an outrage for another day.

An important article, clearly written and well-balanced on a sensitive issue. It will be good to have DevPolicy-UPNG organise with the local newspapers to get this published.

Thanks for this excellent Blog Geejay. GBV is an issue all over the world, but definitely a lot more serious in PNG than the rest of the Pacific. Why? What is so different about PNG compared to the rest of Melanesia? How can society clamp down on GBV?

Thanks Bennie for your insights, and for the leadership role that you (and Debbie Kapal and Joe Koima) have played to help FPDA align its practice to the National Standard. Trupela CDW.

I would like to get involved at the board or committee level for development of standards etc... How do I join? Thank you

The following resource from the Pacific Hub at Griffith Asia Institute provides a detailed survey of Covid19 specific aid provided to Pacific island countries - it covers grants, debt forgiveness, concessional finance and donations in kind: https://www.griffith.edu.au/asia-institute/partnerships-collaborations/pacific-hub/coronavirus-aid-in-the-pacific

Bennie agree.