‍DR ANNE WEBSTER MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL HEALTH
SHADOW MINISTER FOR REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MALLEE

TOPICS: working holiday maker visas, processing abrogation to National Farmers Federation, net overseas migration, overstayers, international students, family reunion, Coalition energy policy, coal fired power, social licence, protection of prime agricultural land

CONNELL

Well, the government has responded as farmers have been concerned about whether or not they'll have enough people to pick their crops. It's because of a go-slow on working holiday makers or backpacker visas, as they're colloquially known. Joining me live now from Mildura is Shadow Regional Health and Communications Minister Anne Webster. Thanks for your time. So in terms of the change, it seems like a short term one, but it's there will be a prioritisation for visas or people linked to specific jobs around harvest and so on. Is that your understanding?

WEBSTER

Yeah, that is my understanding, Tom, thanks for having me. So, we've been advocating for farmers. I have got so many who are broadacre farmers, use massive and expensive equipment and rely year on for the same backpackers coming back because they use it in the northern hemisphere and then come down and do the harvest in Australia. It has worked beautifully from the UK, Ireland, Canada and then... Tony Burke got nervous about migration and decided that he had to somehow bring the NOM down - the Net Overseas Migration Number down - and so he thought he'd go after the farmers because they don't vote for him. That's my short quip for you, Tom. It is really incredibly difficult to talk to farmers every day and hear that they are waiting, they're hay baling right now, and, you know, next week and the week after, they are doing canola and barley and wheat. The fuel and fertiliser crisis... some arguably could have been better. We're now in another fuel crisis. So this whole backpacker mess under Tony Burke has been a shocker. For him to now effectively make the National Farmers' Federation a subsidiary of the Department of Immigration, where all farmers can write to the National Farmers' Federation with their visa applicants, and then the National Farmers' Federation has a straight pathway for the department to prioritise those visas. I mean, what a mess. Honestly, what a mess, you can't make this stuff up

CONNELL

Let me ask you about the longer-term proposal from Labor. So, on the ballot system for backpackers... whereby if you do your initial number of days in first year and the second year is six months. You can still get the extra year but it's a ballot system. Is that a neat solution?

WEBSTER 

No, it's a terrible solution. Why even focus on the backpackers? They're not the ones who are overstaying. Labor are afraid of touching, you know, the golden egg for the universities, which is international students. They overstay, not all of them, obviously, but there are overstayers there. And it's not the farming communities. That is the issue. This is absolutely political. It is typical of what we are seeing of Labor. you know, save the day, so-called, a ballot system on the third year, reducing the number from 31,000 to 5,000, just 5,000, is honestly an insult to our farming communities. Once again, Labor are making it hard for our farmers and our regional communities to grow food and fibre for the nation and the world, and it is honestly unacceptable. You mentioned uk backpackers.

CONNELL

They don't actually have to work in the regions. Do they? That's a bit of a...

WEBSTER 

No, that's true. But they do come across to do that combine work....

CONNELL

But isn't that a problem in the system, that they don't have that requirement to do that anymore?

WEBSTER

Well, it depends on how many others they're allowing to come through. I mean, that agreement with the UK was, as you would know, part of the free trade agreement. And, you know, it's equal play UK to Australia or Australia to UK, for people to be able to go and work. You know, whether that needs to be tweaked in the long term, I'll leave that to the ministers....

CONNELL

There has been a huge increase in Uk backpackers specifically, a big increase. And when every little bit of migration is being looked at, as to: do we need it? you know, your party wants to bring the NOM down further than Labor does. That does seem like a, you know, we're talking tens of thousands there. That's a bit of a problem, isn't it?

WEBSTER

Well, if you're talking about net overseas migration, I think you're really talking about which people are coming in. The focus for the Coalition has been about what kind of person who is coming in and the values they bring in. And, of course, as Angus Taylor...

CONNELL

But backpackers are part of the NOM...

WEBSTER

Whether there's housing...

CONNELL

Under the 12-16 rule, most of the backpackers are part of that NOM. They're not excluded, right?

WEBSTER

No, but the thing is it's the overstayers.  You've got to look where the actual problems are and it's not the backpackers who are the problem.

CONNELL

Well, there are overstays within backpackers as well, and there are visa hoppers within that category.

WEBSTER 

Okay, they're still not the major problem though, Tom. You would know that it's international students largely and then of course all of the additional family members that are coming with those students and with other workers as as they come into Australia. The whole migration debate is something that needs to be had. The discussion needs to be had. And, of course, the the Coalition has already said we have already committed to around or under 170,000 to match housing. The other issue, the other thing I'd point out to you, Tom, is that in farming, they provide the accommodation, largely they provide the accommodation for their backpackers. So it's not a drain. on the housing issue.

CONNELL

No, but that final year, once they qualify for it, the third year, there's no requirement to be in the regions. So that's theoretically the problem that Labor could fix with its ballot system. I'm not saying it's, I'm not going to bat for it. It's up there for debate. But that's obviously part of the factor on how many people are in our cities. Let me ask you, though, your colleague, Dan Tehan has outlined the plan on energy. He did talk about subsidised coal-fired power. Would you be happy with a new coal-fired power plant in your electorate?

WEBSTER

Absolutely. What Australia needs is reliable and affordable electricity. We do not have that under the current system. And for people who don't know, my electorate has been, I should find another word than targeted, but I can tell you right now, my community feels targeted for renewable energy projects that are ripping through prime agricultural land. The lack of social licence has been appalling, and the proposals that Dan Tehan has brought forward, the policy work is incredibly important. And one of the things that I did myself was to write up legislation to protect protect prime ag land, literally from that kind of bulldozing of swathes of prime ag land. And I think it should be protected. Farmers want it to be protected. We need to be able to grow food and fibre into the future.

CONNELL

Good to leave it there, Anne Webster. Thanks for your time

WEBSTER

No worries.

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