Comments

Your opening sentence is correct: 'Papua New Guineans face great difficulties if they wish to participate in the Seasonal Worker Program'. The Seasonal Worker Coordination Office operates with very few resources. However, DFAT does not have anything to do with the operational aspects of the seasonal worker program in PNG or in Australia. PNG does not permit agents to recruit for a fee. The PNG contact listed by the Australian Department of Employment is: David L Haro, Manager, National Employment Services, Department of Labour & industrial Relations, Phone Number: +675 325 2022, 325 0414 (switch), Direct line: +675 325 4593, Email Address: tevitaharo@gmail.com. There is a <a href="http://www.pngworkers4u.com/index.html" rel="nofollow">website</a> that can be used to lodge applications. I did a review for the ILO of PNG Department of Labour's National Employment Services Division in October last year. The Seasonal Worker Coordination Office is part of that Division. Those who want to do seasonal work apply to the Seasonal Worker Coordination Office over the counter, by email or by mail. Applications are screened and processed by four regional officers of the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations and sent to the Coordinator. If the application is complete, it is entered into the Work Ready Pool database. The selection of seasonal workers is done from the Work Ready Pool. With a request from an employer, the Office staff screen and process the applications in terms of the employers’ specifications in terms of height and weight, age and other attributes the employer may request such as a driver’s licence or relevant work experience. Recruiters are not permitted to recruit workers for employers for a fee. The The PNG Government retains the sole right to select workers for employers who have the final choice. It is the responsibility of the Office to advertise how to apply for the Work Ready Pool. This is done in the major towns, Port Moresby, Lae and Rabaul and some provincial towns such as Popondetta and Mt Hagen. This advertising is done by radio and segments on TV. One valuable form of publicity is to get the media to interview workers when they return from working in Australia and New Zealand. Applicants for the Work Ready Pool, according to the website ‘must be from rural areas ie districts and communities’. Compared with recent efforts by Fiji, PNG does little or nothing to encourage recruitment from rural areas apart from the above - this is the subject of a blog we are posting this week. Bryant, hope this helps.

Very interesting data! Tks a lot!

Thank you, Elizabeth, for your kind feedback.

Dear Qayoom. Thank you for your feedback.

Just went through your summary report. what you draw is quite similar to the situation of Afghanistan. One can say that donors travel around the world with their PFM models and impose it blindly.

Thank you for this comment Bryant. The factors you highlight show it can be more difficult for rural people than those living in urban environments to overcome barriers to participation. This can add substantial costs to the program. This can be very difficult as often employers in Australia talk about wanting to hire people from non-urban areas as the perception is they will be more productive given many have existing horticultural skills.

Beautiful analysis, thank you for sharing!

This is an important report and interesting summary - thanks for the succinct account.

Hi John. Thanks for the comment. Is there any public record of this? There is no press release from the IMF indicating the report has been delayed or won't be released (as as the case for PNG). When I did the research on PNG's standing in 2016 relative to other countries in the East Asia and Pacific region, I put Laos in a separate category of some open engagement with the IMF. Specifically, the IMF did include commentary on the performance of the Lao economy in press releases on 8 September 2016 and also on 15 March 2016 following visits by the Managing Director Christine Legarde. There is nothing similar for PNG. Possibly PNG needs a visit by the IMF's Managing Director? Cheers Paul

Hi Caroline. I'm not aware of any Australia data on what happens with the workers income and impact in their home countries however there is good data from a number of studies about what happens when workers remit income as temporary seasonal workers. I would recommend John Gibson and David McKenzie's work. <a href="http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTDEVIMPEVAINI/Resources/RSEImpactPaperv8.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Here is a World Bank paper</a> on the topic. Cheers, Henry

Papua New Guineans face great difficulties if they wish to participate in the Seasonal Worker Program. The information provided by DFAT lists an agent based in Port Moresby and also lists his phone numbers and email addresses. If a person who wants to participate in the scheme can get him to respond to their inquiries they then must obtain a passport . Before they can get a passport they must get a birth certificate. These things can only be obtained in Port Moresby and only by paying money. If they live in Southern Highlands or East Sepik, they face an expensive air fare to get to Port Moresby and then the costs associated with the passport and living in Port Moresby while they wait for these documents to be produced.. But they are unlikely to get a response from DFAT's agent. I have twice tried to help men who I thought would make excellent seasonal workers: mature, good horticulturalists, hard workers; good speakers of English; and very keen to learn about new ways of growing and selling vegetables and fruit from their Australian experience. One lived near Tari, the other near Maprik. I emailed and phoned the person listed by DFAT numerous times on behalf of these men but have never received a response. When I asked DFAT what to do, I was referred back to the agent. I can't know for sure, but it is possible that DFAT paying someone to do a job that they are not doing is the problem here.

Paul, Lao PDR also suppressed the IMF Article IV assessment (late 2016). So untrue that PNG is unique, but your point stands and is perhaps reinforced by the company PNG has chosen to keep in this regard.