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On this - here we have more from the Primary Industry minister for the NT, where they are v concerned about the mango harvest. It's not completely clear that this constitutes a 'green light' and still no indication what the position of the Vanuatu government is: https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/nt-country-hour/nt-country-hour/12485964

Australia's foreign policy in the Pacific in the last few years has been, as Richard Moore puts it, "complacency and under-reaction, followed by overreaction". The intervention in the Pacific is pretty much following the footsteps of China. Where China goes, Australia follows, from electricity to internet. And on the military front, where US points, Australia goes, from naval bases to increased military budget. It's becoming clear to Pacific islanders what Australia's response will be if China ever decides to reduce its engagement in the Pacific. Logically, Australia will be less interested in intervening in areas that matter: infrastructure. So to keep Australia interested in sectors that Pacific governments think are important, they'll continue to court China. It would benefit Australia and the region to think long term, and stop being reactionary.

Thank you Richard and Stephen for another informative and highly relevant post. Please keep up the great work. Few points I'd like to add: - All labour hire (LH) businesses must include payroll tax as a component of their charge rate to their clients regardless of how many people are placed with that client. So, if you, as a grower are under the PT threshold you would look closely at the cost v benefit of using LH. Having said this, many small growers still do use LH. Conversely, the servicing costs for a LH business to properly service (say) 5 people in a remote location may make it uneconomical. - Generations of farmers have used LH (many kosher LH, many not) for a myriad of reasons. I fully support your statement regarding the expertise required to properly implement the SWP especially in this era where the Horticulture Award has undergone significant change and other factors (eg accommodation and transport, etc) are so much in the spotlight. The onus is on us to reinforce and implement the myriad of rules governing us whilst at the same time assisting our clients to adapt to change and giving our men/women every opportunity to flourish. - We (LH) do not always get it right but as a senior AE, working closely with some of the majors in our SWP world, I believe that we are LH industry leaders and I'm proud of the role we play. - No grower is forced to use LH and all growers can change their mind and do it themselves if they so decide. Theirs is an incredibly complex world (as is ours) and if they feel they are getting value for money then the use of LH will continue to evolve and we will continue to improve and further value-add to our personnel and our clients, areas which don't really get a mention. Another time perhaps.

I disagree that the growth in the programme is to come from Labour Hire. I think that growers and farmers will soon work out that the cost to administer the programme is not as high as the cost of Labour Hire fee. If you need 8-10 Seasonal Workers for 5 or more months then the programme is worth administering yourself. You have more control and more fun! I think we need to encourage the small farms to take it on. I believe it would be better for the people and better for the programme if family farms welcome Seasonal Workers into their lives. If there are any farms out there who are currently labour hiring, research it and do a costing, it will work in your favour trust me!

Tess, thanks for your response. Yes Vanuatu has suspended participation in labour mobility. As with lockdowns in general, it is a chance for sending governments to put in place new procedures that will enable them to meet the more stringent health safety and tracking requirements that all post Covid-19 migration pathways will require. On the plans of the Timor-Leste Government to send workers to Australia, the Australian end of this story https://www.begadistrictnews.com.au/story/6844038/pandemic-restrictions-leave-mango-industry-in-the-lurch/?cs=7 is that Northern Territory Senator Dr Sam McMahon is working with federal government departments to find a way to bring seasonal workers in to do the work on the mango harvest, and believes that a green light will be given soon.

Bernard, you provide clear evidence of how the spread of the virus needs to be tracked and those in close contact isolated and supported. We know the UK has not done this well at all. But my blog reported on how Mexico and Canada responded to a significant outbreak among seasonal workers. The Mexico government took a strong stance, stopping 5,000 workers, and within a week an agreement was reached with the Canadian government, based on setting up a joint working party to monitor conditions and the latter's commitment to do more inspections on the ground, support workers more and increase penalities for employers. The German example also has real lessons for managing outbreaks in terms of work contract arrangements. But the fact that Germany has opened its borders to seasonal workers shows that the government is confident that it has a system in place that will work.

Andrew, thanks for your detailed assessment of the situation facing the horticulture industry affecting the supply of food. In response to your question at the end: What do Australian Primary Producers need to do to have our government respond appropriately? I have suggested in a recent blog https://devpolicy.org/recovering-from-covid-19-a-pacific-pathway-20200501/ that the UK's Feed the Nation campaign by agriculture labour providers is a good way to show the community and their politicians clear evidence that those job applicants who meet work requirements have been offered work and in that public way provide evidence of the labour shortfall.

Like many of my fellow Melbournians, I too am angry at the mishandling and indeed mismanagement by the Victorian government, leading to an uncontrolled spread of the virus. Despite the strong precautionary action taken by the state government to put overseas arrivals in government funded quarantine, the follow up action was not thought through. At least two public policy lessons can be learned. First, contracting out a service works reasonably well in a low-risk setting where the outputs can be monitored and measured easily. Contracting out to deliver complex tasks, such as a bank outsourcing IT functions involving high risk consequences, requires an entirely different set of arrangements. These include retaining certain core functions in-house, including expertise in how the service to be outsourced should be managed. Also needed is a detailed specification of the service to be provided, including the relevant qualifications and ongoing training of staff. Close monitoring of how the contractor is managing service delivery is needed. Also required are regular meetings to resolve problems jointly as soon as an early sign of an issue emerges, and a new service agreement put in place based on the identified changes needed. Second lesson is the need to carry out risk assessments of each high risk setting on the ground early in any response, identify the causes of the high risks and work out with those involved how to mitigate these risks. International and local experience show that aged care and meat processing facilities stand out as potential high risk centres for the spread of COVID-19. These responses should not be reactive after evidence emerges that the virus is spreading in these centres. These two lessons need to apply to setting up pathways for seasonal workers, tourists or other migrants to enter Australia.

Thanks for this post Stephen and Richard. First and foremost, SWP is run for profit where the employer, the employee, and the labour-hire companies are all meant to gain from the scheme. SWP is no charity: food would rot if not picked in time by the workers! The divvying up of the profits generated from SWP rests on how power is distributed between these groups. My guess is that the worker has least leverage in this exchange, thus is most at risk of being short-changed from SWP. Furthermore, islanders are not known for their bargaining skills! Consequently, island governments have a role in ensuring that their workers/citizens are paid their fair dues - both in pay and with pastoral care.

Thanks for this information Soli. The challenges of delivering TVET education online is likely to remain with us even after the current lockdowns are over. While workshops and internships will require hands-on training, mentoring and demonstrations may now be delivered from a distance. Great to see APTC being agile and adaptive to the changing needs of TVET education within the Pacific islands. We must also give credit to island governments who have invested heavily in digital infrastructure.

Interesting statistics Richard. The Approved Employers of Australia have members from all size operations and Contractors. Labour Hire certainly has the most workers for the reasons you mentioned. I find the comments on the pastoral care responsibilities by AEs most interesting. I think the AEA should start telling the public some of the horrific issues they have to deal with and pay for which goes above and beyond their pastoral care responsibilities. It is about time we start putting all the facts on the table to demonstrate how committed the majority of AEs actually are to the welfare and wellbeing of workers.

I agree that we are facing a severe labour shortage going forward. Germany and Canada are excellent examples of how Government should collaborate with relevant stakeholders to introduce a more flexible working arrangement to address the labour shortage. We should be forming a working group to address this issue as well. However, Approved Employers need to play an active role instead of just being told what they can or cannot do. This is another reason why the Approved Employers of Australia have requested a workshop summit – unfortunately our request has fallen on deaf ears.