Thousands of Pacific Islanders who come to states including NSW, Queensland and Victoria each year to pick fruit and vegetables do not properly understand what constitutes a crime in Australia.
An increasing number of seasonal workers are reportedly being charged with rape and many have been locked up for offences which might not be illegal in their homeland.
Vanuatu’s Minister for Internal Affairs, Johnny Koanapo, has cited a lack of understanding of Australian laws as a significant reason behind his citizens ending up in jail.
Mr Koanapo said it was unclear how many of his countrymen – known as ni-Vanuatu – were in Australian prisons but he had met a lawyer who was handling 30 cases.
During a press conference previously unreported by Australian media, Mr Koanapo also said there had been an increase in the number of seasonal workers charged with rape.
‘Some of our citizens commit offences while under the influence of alcohol, and these offences were beyond what I can imagine,’ Mr Koanapo told reporters in Vanuatu in late April.
The alleged crimes committed by men from Vanuatu ranged from minor matters to ‘very serious’ offences.
‘This is a fact that cannot be denied in terms of the numbers of ni-Vanuatu who happen to find themselves in prisons in Australia in certain states,’ Mr Koanapo said in a follow-up interview with ABC Pacific.
Vanuatu’s Minister for Internal Affairs, Johnny Koanapo, has cited a lack of understanding of Australian laws as a significant reason why his citizens are ending up in jail
A fruit picker from Vanuata is behind bars in Queensland after being accused of raping a teenage girl in March at Mareeba on the Atherton Tablelands.
The 31-year-old has been charged with rape, assault with intent to commit rape and indecent treatment of a child under 16, and will appear in court later this month.
A Samoan fruit picker has been refused bail in NSW after he allegedly raped a teenage girl in November near Arrawarra Beach on the mid-north coast.
The 25-year-old is charged with four counts of sexual intercourse without consent and one of common assault and returns to court in September.
At Mildura in Victoria’s citrus-growing Suraysia region, complaints about seasonal workers’ misbehaviour in the nearby town of Red Cliffs led to a ‘ceremony of apology’ attended by members of a Vanuatu government delegation.
Under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, eligible Australian businesses can hire workers from nine Pacific island nations and Timor-Leste when there is not enough local labor.
There were more than 34,000 PALM workers in Australia in June according to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.
The largest number of workers came from Fiji (6,695), followed by Vanuatu (6,400), Solomon Islands (5,085), Timor-Leste (4,750), Tonga (4,165), Papua New Guinea (1,935) and Samoa (3,245), with Tuvalu and Nauru making up the rest.
Many have been imprisoned for offences which might not be illegal in their homeland. It is not suggested any seasonal worker pictured has committed a criminal offence
Queensland had the most workers with 12,215, ahead of NSW (6,455), Victoria (5,985), South Australia (2,955), Western Australia (2,975), Tasmania (1,725), Northern Territory (705) and ACT (30).
More than half the migrant workforce was employed in agriculture, with meat processing by far the next largest sector.
Residents of some small towns hosting large numbers of PALM visa-holders have complained of seasonal workers engaging in anti-social behaviour such as public drunkenness.
Daily Mail Australia has been told of workers displaying inappropriate conduct towards women, fighting among themselves and driving dangerously while intoxicated.
Workers are often housed in crowded accommodation likened to shanty towns, while men can be away from their wives and families for months or even years.
Mr Koanapo said there was a lack of ‘understanding and knowledge of our citizens on particular offences and on things which might not be considered offences here in Vanuatu’.
‘The way the law is being enforced is probably a bit different from the way it is being done in Australia,’ he said.
Mr Koanapo said workers taking part in the PALM scheme should be properly briefed about Australian laws and customs before they leave Vanuatu.
‘I also intend to engage one or two lawyers to be part of the departure briefings before our people go to Australia to engage themselves in the seasonal work,’ he said.
‘The briefings must be comprehensive in a way that it also covers certain issues that our people need to be aware of before they get onto the plane to Australia.
‘People perhaps take certain things for granted and then the situation is not the same in Australia.’
Mr Koanapo was unsure how many seasonal workers from Vanuatu had been arrested for rape.
‘The information is not very clear to me’ he said. ‘But I do understand having obtained some reliable information that quite a number of them are in jail.’
Workers are often housed in crowded accommodation likened to shanty towns, while men can be away from their wives and families for months or even years. Worker accommodation on the mid-north coast of NSW is pictured
Mr Koanapo said his government was not even aware how many PALM workers from Vanuatu were in Australia.
Concerns have been raised about some working conditions for PALM visa holders, such as the way employers can deduct pay from their wages.
Deductions can be made to pay back expenses incurred by employers such as international airfares, visa applications and medical examinations.
Ongoing deductions are taken to pay for accommodation, health insurance, meals, transport to and from work, and household bills such as electricity.
Workers also cannot leave their employers without going through what has been described as a rigorous bureaucratic process.
Mr Koanapo said he did not believe working conditions were the ‘pushing factor that is compelling them to commit certain offences’.
‘I think that’s a matter of personal choice for the people,’ he said.
‘We’ve listened to some of the concerns of our workers, we are discussing that with the government of Australia.’
Residents of some small towns hosting large numbers of PALM visa-holders have complained of seasonal workers engaging public drunkenness and other in anti-social behaviour. Seasonal workers are pictured in NSW
Daily Mail Australia understands the federal government expects PALM scheme workers to receive training, including information about Australian laws and customs, before they depart their country or origin.
PALM scheme employers are also required to provide a comprehensive briefing to workers upon their arrival which includes the consequences of breaking laws in Australia.
A Department of Employment and Workplace Relations spokeswoman said the agency recorded ‘limited date’ on PALM workers charged with a criminal offence.
‘The department is unable to share this information due to legal and privacy considerations,’ she said.
‘The department takes all allegations concerning PALM scheme workers seriously.’
Vanuatu’s High Commissioner to Australia, Samson Fare, was contacted for comment but did not respond.
