Australia’s Seasonal Workers Program contributes to the economic development of participating countries by providing work opportunities in the agriculture and accommodation industries. This program can help support the rebalancing strategy by increasing Australia’s role within the South West Pacific and reduce potential reliance on Chinese support. Further, the program aims to strengthen local economies, which increases stability within the region, and therefore supports Australia’s regional security concerns. Writing for the Australian Defense College, Group Captain Matthew Hegarty suggests the program will maintain Australia’s position as a regional leader while simultaneously promoting stability, security, peace and prosperity in the region. Although the Seasonal Workers Program is ongoing, its full potential is yet to be realized due to a confluence of factors.
The seasonal workers program was established through a pilot initiative in 2009, and designed to provide a labor supply from the Pacific Islands to the Australian horticultural industry. In effect, low skilled workers from select countries were
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Of note, New Zealand has a similar program but the guaranteed employment period is capped at 6 weeks. This reduction has not negatively affected the intake by the labor workforce, with the New Zealand program regularly hosting more employees than the Australian model. Likewise, reducing the upfront cost will also make the program more attractive to employees. A suggestion that also mirrors the New Zealand scheme is to make the employer responsible for transportation costs only for ‘first-time’ employees—the assumption being returning laborers have the means from previous employment to pay for airfare. A reduction to both the minimum employment period and transportation costs will improve program participation by