The federal government’s announced changes to second and third-year Working Holiday Maker visas risk weakening the incentive that encourages these young international visitors to leave the capital cities and spend months working, living and travelling in regional Australia.
The regional-work requirement remains. The certainty does not. Working holiday makers will still need to complete specified regional work, but rather than that work providing an established pathway to another year in Australia, it will qualify them for a ballot.
The third-year change is particularly significant. About 31,000 people qualified last year. Under the new arrangements, just 5000 places will be available. For a young traveller considering whether to commit six months to regional work, that fundamentally changes the proposition.
The impact on Cairns begins well before any ballot is drawn. It begins when that traveller decides whether coming north is worth the risk.
For Cairns, the potential loss is twofold: workforce capacity in industries our economy depends on, and international visitors who live, travel and spend money in our region.
Housing pressure is rightly part of the national migration debate, but its impact is not uniform across Australia.
Cairns has a long-established backpacker and short-stay accommodation sector specifically serving this market. Reducing working holiday maker numbers may therefore remove workforce capacity and visitor expenditure while doing comparatively little to relieve pressure on our long-term rental market.
I have written to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke asking that an earned pathway be retained for working holiday makers who complete the required specified work in northern Australia.
If a northern Australian exemption is not possible, there should at least be a protected northern allocation large enough to retain a genuine incentive to come north.
Australia needs a well-managed migration system. But national policy should recognise the different role working holiday makers play in regional economies like ours.
If young travellers are prepared to come north, do the required work and contribute to our communities, there should remain a meaningful pathway for them to stay.
Cairns is not asking for special treatment. We are asking for migration settings that recognise regional realities and deliver regionally appropriate outcomes.
Cr Amy Eden
Mayor of Cairns
