Farming lobby says shoppers will see emptier shelves and higher prices because of restrictions on backpackers
The farming lobby’s claim that immigration rule changes will increase food prices for households is wrong, Tony Burke has said, describing moves to speed up processing of backpacker visas as a positive step for agriculture.
Burke unveiled Labor’s reforms at the National Press Club on Thursday, flagging that the plan was more limited than the government would like, due to a lack of support for wider legislation from the Coalition.
But the package has received mixed reviews, with business groups and the Coalition saying it did not do enough to lower net overseas migration levels, while refugee advocates said it showed migrants remained “political punching bags”.
The National Farmers Federation’s chief executive, Mike Guerin, said farmers would see an immediate economic impact from restrictions on working holidaymakers and other temporary migrants. He warned producers were already struggling to get workers for the harvesting season.
Backpackers seeking to stay in Australia for more than a year will be subject to a new ballot, with places severely restricted for years two and three.
“We will see a lift in the price of food,” Guerin said. “We will see emptier supermarkets... And while it’s yet to play out directly for consumers, for people in the cities, it’s very close. We will not be able to finish the harvest this year, before Christmas.”
But Burke told Guardian Australia the plan was carefully formulated, reducing demand driven settings and giving the government great control, while not damaging the economy.
He said healthcare, construction and aged care all relied on overseas workers, and broader cuts would hurt services.
“The economic contribution matters in terms of services that people rely on.
“The announcement we made today is about getting the processing moving again for those backpacker visas that have an obligation, if you want the extra years, to work in the regions. That’s a significant advantage … the department getting moving on the processing of those again at a faster pace.”
Burke said the agriculture sector could utilise workers from the Pacific Australia labour mobility scheme, and producers had legal responsibilities to pay staff adequately.
“I don’t think consumers believe their pathway to paying less should rely on worker exploitation.”
The government’s changes include new compliance measures to deal with people overstaying their visa, but Burke said enforcement would be measured and sensible.
About 100 new additional compliance officers will be added, along with 250 additional beds in immigration detention.
Burke said the changes were not like immigration enforcement in countries overseas, such as the approach used by Donald Trump’s administration.
But the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre said the planned increase in enforcement would leave Australia “smaller, meaner and more divided”. “How much of its soul is the Labor party prepared to sacrifice chasing people who will never be satisfied,” founder Kon Karapanagiotidis said. The Greens deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi, criticised the increased immigration detention and bar on foreign students bringing family members to Australia. “Labor’s move to force people to choose between their family and a chance to study in Australia is soulless mimicry of One Nation tactics,” Faruqi said.
“Pauline Hanson and her billionaire backers might as well be ghostwriting Labor’s immigration policy.” Employers welcomed the reforms, with the Minerals Council of Australia praising the government’s prioritisation of mining workers. Big business lobby group the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the government had avoided a damaging overcorrection and the plan would help rebuild public confidence. But its chief executive, Andrew McKellar, warned its execution via ministerial directives meant policy was being held together by “the stroke of a pen”. The Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, accused the government of using farmers and regional industries as “whipping boys for their failure to bring down migration”. Cuts to the working holidaymaker program would lead to staff shortages, the Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association chief, Wes Lambert, said. “A chef, cook or hospitality manager filling a genuine shortage is valuable too,” Lambert said.
“Australia absolutely needs a sustainable migration system. But migration policy cannot simply be a numbers exercise. It must recognise where the workers are actually needed.”