Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie spoke with Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia David Littleproud about a new visa agreement for workers

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Katie spoke with Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia David Littleproud about a new visa agreement for workers · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: It is just seventeen minutes after ten o'clock and we
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: know that there are landmark talks underway for Indonesia to
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: become a participating country in the Australian agriculture work of visa.
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  Speaker 1: So joining me on the line to talk a little
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  Speaker 1: bit more about this is the Minister for Agriculture and
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  Speaker 1: Northern Australia, David little Proud.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, good morning, good to be with
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  Speaker 2: you now.
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  Speaker 1: David, tell us a little bit more about the situation
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: with these work of visas, but all the Australian agriculture
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  Speaker 1: work of visas, but indeed when it comes to Indonesia
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  Speaker 1: and how it may impact the Northern territory.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, look, obviously we announced the ag visa and
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  Speaker 2: we've been in discussions with four countries across Southeast Asia.
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  Speaker 2: Indonesia are the first country that prepared to be publicly
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  Speaker 2: named as one of those and that's about them showing
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  Speaker 2: intent that they're getting closer and closely getting more comfort
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  Speaker 2: with what we're providing. Now, they're a sovereign government and
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  Speaker 2: they will have to make their own decision, but that
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  Speaker 2: obviously so is a very strong intent that they see
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  Speaker 2: what we're providing to them is an opportunity for us
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  Speaker 2: to enrich that relationship and provide agricultural workers not just
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  Speaker 2: for seasonal but also for skilled and semi skilled. So
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  Speaker 2: the opportunity is there for their workers to come into
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  Speaker 2: the territory and run across, which is an exciting development.
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  Speaker 2: We're hoping that the other three countries will also show
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  Speaker 2: that intent, but we're not there yet. They haven't signed up,
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  Speaker 2: but we are very close. What we've also been doing
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  Speaker 2: to make sure that as soon as any of these
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  Speaker 2: countries do sign up, we've already been working with labor
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  Speaker 2: higher companies and approved employers to actually go and start
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  Speaker 2: this immediately. So if a country was to sign up,
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  Speaker 2: then those labor high companies and improved employers are ready
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  Speaker 2: to start to bring people in. So we're basically at
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  Speaker 2: the starting gate, just waiting for the gun to go
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  Speaker 2: now and everything's in place for us to have a
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  Speaker 2: quick run.
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  Speaker 1: So, as one of our closest neighbors, why wasn't Indonesia
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  Speaker 1: part of the work of visa scheme before or why
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  Speaker 1: weren't we sort of considering them previously?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, this is brand new, So this is a brand
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  Speaker 2: new visa system. So Previously we were relying a lot
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  Speaker 2: on the Pacific schemes. Yeah, but the ag visa was
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  Speaker 2: what the National Party was able to secure out of
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  Speaker 2: the UK Free Trade Agreements negotiations of the LIBS. So
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  Speaker 2: they are the first ones and that's I think that's
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  Speaker 2: the most encouraging thing is that one of our closest
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  Speaker 2: neighbors is prepared to sign up to that. I think
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  Speaker 2: just says that we do have a strong relationship, and
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  Speaker 2: particularly the territory. Understand, you guys really have done a
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  Speaker 2: lot of work in building that relationship between the territory
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  Speaker 2: on behalf of Australia and much of the and then
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  Speaker 2: also with the Indonesians themselves. So that'll be pivotal I
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  Speaker 2: think for the territory, and I think you guys have
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  Speaker 2: played the leading role in that over the years, over decades,
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  Speaker 2: and I think it's starting to pay dividends. Now.
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  Speaker 1: How soon could this become a reality in terms of
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  Speaker 1: some of those workforce shortages that we're seeing here in
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  Speaker 1: the territory basically within.
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  Speaker 2: A matter of weeks as soon as Indonesia or any
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  Speaker 2: other of these countries sign up. So that's why we've
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  Speaker 2: been doing a lot of the back end work with
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  Speaker 2: labor high companies and with approved deployers to make sure
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  Speaker 2: that if they get the green tick, if the country
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  Speaker 2: signs up to it, then we are ready to move immediately.
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  Speaker 2: And so we've got to understand sovereign governments they get
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  Speaker 2: to make their own minds up and they don't. Just
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  Speaker 2: because Australia's created doesn't mean they'll take it. But it's
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  Speaker 2: encouraging to see Indonesia show this intent and we're hoping
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  Speaker 2: soon that we'll be able to get people.
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  Speaker 1: On the ground and with those negotiations or with the talks,
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  Speaker 1: I should say that you've clearly and I'm sure been
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: having at different times with the Northern Territory farmers. How
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  Speaker 1: many I mean like, how many workers could we potentially
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  Speaker 1: see enter the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: We think we can get well into the hundreds, possibly
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  Speaker 2: into the one thousands for Christmas if they were to
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  Speaker 2: sign up. So we've been working through that and there's
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  Speaker 2: been a lot of body work that the Home Affairs
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  Speaker 2: have been working with state and territories because the big
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  Speaker 2: limitation will be quarantining. Each state has their own health
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  Speaker 2: order that's determined by the Chief Minister and our Chief
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  Speaker 2: Health Officer, so the commonwewthul stamp to ESUS once they've
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  Speaker 2: decided how they want to do that. Now in the territory,
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  Speaker 2: you've got Howard Springs. In other states though in New
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  Speaker 2: South Wales now if they're double jab they can come in.
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  Speaker 2: So each state's a little bit different. And if if
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  Speaker 2: there's an eating of some of those restrictions that can
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  Speaker 2: be done safely and there's company in that will be
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  Speaker 2: trying to find as many as we can to meet
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  Speaker 2: that demand.
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  Speaker 1: Well, that's sort of been a bit of a lynchpin
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  Speaker 1: for us in the territory at different times though, hasn't
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  Speaker 1: it that there hasn't been that potential to sort of
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  Speaker 1: have some of these workers quarantine out there at Howard Springs.
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  Speaker 1: I know at different times who've spoken about blade point,
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  Speaker 1: But do you do you think that we're really sort
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  Speaker 1: of going to be able to make this a little
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  Speaker 1: bit easier.
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  Speaker 2: Well, that's what we're trying to hope that our state
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  Speaker 2: and territory counterparts will be collaborative on this and understand
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  Speaker 2: that they can bring these people in. You've got to
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  Speaker 2: appreciate too, there are already over twenty five thousand men
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  Speaker 2: and women ready to come in from ten Pacific nations
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  Speaker 2: to do the work. They've been there since September last
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  Speaker 2: year and the only impediment to that has been whether
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  Speaker 2: the states in two to let them in. So they
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  Speaker 2: prebetted they're ready to come and they can be in tomorrow.
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  Speaker 2: This is just an additional scheme that complements and supplements.
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  Speaker 2: There's no impediment to bring in any of those workers
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  Speaker 2: in the Pacific scheme now. So this is the frustrating thing.
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  Speaker 2: We've only brought in around twelve and a half thousand,
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  Speaker 2: when just in horticulture alone, a Bear's is telling us
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  Speaker 2: we need thirty thousand by February, and then when you
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  Speaker 2: start a look at the rest of the agricultural landscape
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  Speaker 2: outside horticulture, there's thousands more that are required. And that's
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  Speaker 2: why we're just saying that the states, please, you've got
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  Speaker 2: to try and find a courageous way to bring these
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  Speaker 2: people in safely. Work with industry. Anti farmers have been
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  Speaker 2: so forward leaning on this and we just need state
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  Speaker 2: and territories to work with our peak bodies and industry
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  Speaker 2: bodies to find this solution to bring them in. In
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  Speaker 2: New South Wales, it's going to be sorted South Australia
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  Speaker 2: create their own facility, and they're actually trying to undertake
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  Speaker 2: in country quarantining in Vanawatu. So there's a whole lot
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  Speaker 2: of work that's been done. Some states have really excelled,
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  Speaker 2: others haven't.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, hasn't been quite frustrating to see the way that
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  Speaker 1: different states moving in different states and territories are sort
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  Speaker 1: of moving, not only when it comes to bringing in workers,
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  Speaker 1: but also when it comes to some of the border
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  Speaker 1: restrictions that we've got. It seems very dislocated at this point.
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  Speaker 2: Well, and that's the limitation of federation. And I think
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  Speaker 2: everyone for many years have thought that we have all
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  Speaker 2: the power and authority in Canberra. Our constitution clearly has
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  Speaker 2: given much of this authority to the states and territories
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  Speaker 2: and I think as Australians are getting a real lesson
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  Speaker 2: in our constitution and federation. And unfortunately what we're getting
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  Speaker 2: a lesson in is that they don't want to work
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  Speaker 2: together enough to have some continuity and consistency across state borders.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, they all screamed to us they want a
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  Speaker 2: national leadership on an agg workers Code, which meant you
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  Speaker 2: could send workers from one state to the other. But
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  Speaker 2: when we put it together and put it to them, Queensland,
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  Speaker 2: West Australia and Tasmania wouldn't sign up. And so if
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  Speaker 2: you're a farmer out there, you just go, well, you
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  Speaker 2: shake your head, you go lines put it on ap
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  Speaker 2: one hundred and twenty years ago, a dictating whether I
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  Speaker 2: can get a worker that already is in Australia here
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  Speaker 2: and then to bring one in. I've got a different
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  Speaker 2: set of circumstances in my state or territories than my
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: neighbor over the other side of that line. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: it's just in a modern Australia, it's just it hasn't worked.
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  Speaker 2: And unless the premiers and Chief Ministers want to work
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  Speaker 2: with one another and trust one another, I think as
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  Speaker 2: a nation we have to have a mature conversation with
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  Speaker 2: what a modern federation looks like into the future once
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  Speaker 2: we get through this pandemic.
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  Speaker 1: Well, David little Proud obviously the Minister for Northern Australia
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  Speaker 1: but also the Deputy Leader of the Nationals, and I
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  Speaker 1: know that right now the federal governments obviously trying to
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  Speaker 1: finalize this policy for the Glasgow Climate Summit later this month,
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  Speaker 1: where are things that from the National Party's perspective.
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  Speaker 2: From the National Party's perspective, we've finalized the mitigans that
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  Speaker 2: we believe will protect regional rual Australia. We are the
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  Speaker 2: only ones they're detecting region rual Australia where their last
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  Speaker 2: line defense down here in Canberra, so we take that
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  Speaker 2: job seriously. We'd handed that to the Prime Minister. Obviously
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  Speaker 2: he'll work through that with us over the coming couple
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  Speaker 2: of days. We're meeting again on Sunday and we hope
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  Speaker 2: that the Minister will be able to detail how he
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  Speaker 2: can respond to those concerns. But the midigans that we
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  Speaker 2: put forward to achieve this plan that he put forward
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  Speaker 2: to us, so we'd be very constructive. It's been very
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  Speaker 2: collegiate and we're now just in the final stages that
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  Speaker 2: hopefully we can get some comfort for regional rule Australia
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  Speaker 2: and make a global commitment if it's able to be achieved.
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  Speaker 3: What do some of those mitigants include, Well, they'll become
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  Speaker 3: public at some point very very near in the future,
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  Speaker 3: but at this juncture that this is a policy discussion
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  Speaker 3: between ourselves and the Liberal Party and once that's completed
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  Speaker 3: then obviously we'll be making them very publican and that's
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  Speaker 3: obviously a matter.
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  Speaker 2: Of days away.
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  Speaker 1: Has it been pretty heated in the Nationals party room.
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  Speaker 1: I know that Matt Canavan certainly had very differing views to.
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  Speaker 3: Some of you.
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  Speaker 2: I know it hasn't and you understand the culture of
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  Speaker 2: the National Party. We're different to other political parties. We
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  Speaker 2: actually celebrate the difference of opinions on issues. That's actually
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  Speaker 2: a culture that we're fiercely protective of. While Matt may
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  Speaker 2: not agree and some don't agree with Mate on this one,
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  Speaker 2: on others they will. And I'd rather be standing next
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  Speaker 2: to somebody that is a conviction politician than somebody that's
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  Speaker 2: just saying for the sake of saying it and because
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  Speaker 2: their parties told them to. And I think that's what
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  Speaker 2: differentiates the National Party to the other parties is that
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  Speaker 2: we're prepared to wear our heart and our sleeve and
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  Speaker 2: if our mb be getting hurt that we represented our
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: own electorates will stand up. And that means that the
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: rest of the party room isn't necessary with us, that's okay,
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  Speaker 2: and we don't find that anything that should be objected
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  Speaker 2: against we simply we simply shake it off, have a
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  Speaker 2: beer and a feed, and we're back to it well.
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  Speaker 1: David little Proud, the Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia
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  Speaker 1: and also the Deputy Leader of the Nationals, we appreciate
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  Speaker 1: your time this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Anytime, good to be with you.
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: Thank you.