Comments

I help my partner in Vanuatu who is an agent doing the recruitment, vetting and briefing mentioned in your excellent post. We are baffled by the lack of communication and planning that the situation warrants as we can see from both sides - the Approved Employers really need to plan their labour supplies and be equipped for all contingencies - and we know the workers are hanging on every word, every chance that they may be required in an instant to be work ready and leave. Vanuatu is one of the few countries in the world to be declared Covid-19 free and this could be a great positive for the farmers and the workers wanting to travel to Australia under the SWP. Especially as the SWP is under the umbrella of Australia's aid to the Pacific and this particular country had relied on tourism, which is now of course completely in tatters due to border closures. The SWP is the perfect win-win for Vanuatu people and the Approved Employers who need this planning done now. I would hope maybe talks government to government may be the first step? Perhaps the planes going to collect the repatriating workers in the next couple of months can also deliver fresh workers at the same time....

Thank you. That is great for your work through the Seeds of Life program in Aileu. Hope our new government puts more effort on improving all the key sectors across the country.

This helped me in my legal studies assignment.. Thankyou..

Fredrick, I hope your article is widely read and reaches decision makers too. As long as the majority of PNG people continue to live subsistence livelihoods, access to TV, radio, newspapers will be limited: radio remains king. The arrival of the COVID pandemic and the need for a trusted voice with reach to the masses serves to remind what was lost when the Australian ABC short wave broadcast was canned back in 2017. Thank you for your article and shining a light on the ongoing relevance of radio to PNG.

The well documented attempts to use job seekers or youths in detention will not work. You are saddling farmers with mainly unwilling workers.

Thanks for this timely post Richard. All of us will pay a price in terms of increased cost of fruits and vegetables if farmers are unable to bring their produce to market. Of many great things about Australia is the steady supply of fresh produce - thanks to our farmers, retailers, and their workers. If the labour shortages on farms is not addressed soon then we will be paying higher prices for our green groceries; not just this year, but also next year.

Dear Team The COVID 19 impact on fresh food production has lost of 4.5 million for 3 month 23 March - June 2, Tambul/Nebilyer farmers have badly affected in socio economic household income. On behalf I would like to ask the GoPNG and Economic Stimulus Package to assist my Tambul Nebilyer 216 household to recover and revive their household economic. Thank

MANY OF THE POPULATION WHO ARE LIVING IN RURAL AREAS HAVE NOT YET REGISTERED WITH THE NID. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO DEAL WITH SUCH ISSUES?

Why can't the Govt and horticulture industry associations get the unemployed people registered through Centrelink, for this work. Work and get paid, maybe incentivise with stay arrangements for the workers. There would be some farmers out there, who have innovated, to use labour at similar costs compared to WHMs. Any learnings from them could be used by the industry.

Great blog post Richard. I think you're bang on. In relation to WHM movements, new figures show by end of April 2020, the number was down to 98,000. This shows a quick downward trend from the start of 2020, indicating the shortage through until January 2021 could be very substantial.

This is a great time to move the youths in detention out to farms and work. They would learn about farming and also help out our farmers at the same time. Just an idea for the shortage of staff.

Thanks Chris for the article and the attached paper. I would also agree with the previous comment that the issue of suggesting that countries in the Pacific increase social expenditures makes sense but does not really reflect the tight levels of liquidity that many countries are facing since borders have closed and revenues from exports and tourism and related activities have fallen. My own experience in the Solomon Islands and their own Stimulus Package indicate that the Government is trying to balance short-term support with longer-term programmes focused on infrastructure and food security programmes but taking money from one sector to support another has its own problems. The other matter is that Pacific island countries have few mechanisms to directly provide funds to individuals and communities. In the Solomon Islands, the one way the Government has supported households is by allowing some to access their national provident fund accounts (like some have done after natural disasters). However, giving cash directly does not guarantee it is spent and in time of uncertainty (like now) people are just as likely to keep these funds aside as precautionary savings. The other issue (quickly) is that giving elected officials funds directly should be avoided as they are just as likely to be used for a range of non-productive activities and allocated to specific groups (such as political supporters) and not allocated on a needs basis.