Fed: Nationals speak out in support of guest workers

AAP General News (Australia)
08-21-2008
Fed: Nationals speak out in support of guest workers

By Sandra O'Malley

CANBERRA, Aug 21 AAP - Victorian backbencher John Forrest has joined a growing list
of National MPs lining up to support the Rudd government's Pacific guest worker scheme.

His NSW colleague Kay Hull has been a vocal advocate of the scheme, under which 2,500
workers from Tonga, Vanuatu, Kiribati and Papua New Guinea will be given temporary work
visas to perform seasonal agricultural work.

Griffith in NSW and Swan Hill in Victoria have been suggested as regions where the
three-year pilot scheme may operate.

Mr Forrest, the federal member for Mallee, said he'd been an advocate of such a program
for more than a decade.

"I've been working on the need for this program for more than a decade," Mr Forrest said.

"I'm enthusiastically supporting it, representing my patch.

"I'm representing my electorate, we badly want a program like this, we've argued for
it for years and subject to the detail, I'm supporting it."

The Nationals MPs are at odds with Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson, who has concerns
about the program.

Queensland National Ron Boswell has also given in principle support to the use of guest
workers in horticultural industries.

Fellow Queensland Barnaby Joyce says there must be a way to get workers to where they are needed.

"Quite obviously in certain areas in regional Australia there is a strong requirement
for labour that you can't get from other areas," he told ABC radio.

"There are certain jobs that you just can't get employees to do and if that leaves
fruit rotting or abattoirs not working then that's not a good outcome."

Mrs Hull believes the concerns Dr Nelson has raised can be addressed.

"Look I honestly can't understand just where the direction is coming from at the moment,"

Mrs Hull said.

"I am not sure where the advice is coming on this and I'm, you know, I am aware that
if there were concerns about health issues and criminal checks and etc, that there are
significant guidelines and criteria to be put in place to cover all of those aspects."

AAP so/mfh/it/bwl

KEYWORD: VISAS FORREST

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