Immigration Laws: April, 1999 - Number #22

Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock in March announced Australia would not make it easier for nonimmigrant tourists to obtain temporary work visas. After raids on farms turned up illegal workers during the summer and fall harvests, farmers requested a "streamlined" process under which tourists could do farm and other seasonal work: "Tomato crops were left rotting on the ground. Winegrapes are being left on the vine, well past their quality use-by date... Immigration policy is not addressing the unskilled labor shortages in regional Australia."

Instead of making it easier for migrants to enter and work, Ruddock said Australia was considering tightening procedures, requiring nonimmigrants from "high risk" countries such as China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Colombia to post bonds to obtain visas; the bond would be forfeited if the tourist, student, or business visitor did not abide by the terms of the visa. Ruddock estimated that Australia spends A$50 million a year finding, apprehending, and repatriating an average of 10,000 overstaying visitors.

Ruddock said that the government is not "sympathetic to employers who suggest it is all right to employ illegal workers because they are the only ones prepared to do the dirty work or complain because they have their illegal workforce taken away from them at a crucial time." Ruddock advised farmers to "ask all prospective employees for proof of identity and immigration status - even if they have been sent by a contractor or agency."

The Australian government reported 977 apprehensions of illegal workers in January 1999, and another 910 in February 1999. In 1997-98, the government apprehended 12,679 illegal foreigners, a 12 percent increase on the 1996-97 total of 10,339. Australia does not have US or European-style employer sanctions laws: employers cannot be prosecuted unless they "knowingly" employ illegal workers, and there is no I-9 form or similar verification process. A commission is to review whether the Migration Act should be changed to require employers to check whether those they hire are legally entitled to work.

Bartter Chicken Enterprises, poultry meat and egg operation at Hanwood near Griffith with 1,500 employees who earn A$410-A$450 per week, says lack of affordable housing makes it hard to recruit and retain workers. The Griffith/Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area region produces labor-intensive fruits.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie is visiting the far north of Australia to talk to local authorities about immigration problems after 26 illegal immigrants arrived undetected on a Cairns beach. Beattie is calling on the federal government to shift more air and navy forces to Townsville and Cairns.

Following a six-month operation, the Immigration department and the Australian federal police broke up a sophisticated smuggling ring that charged about 155 illegal Iraqi immigrations between $70000 and $14,000. Organizers used forged passports and visas, with Thailand a major source of the documentation and a staging point for the foreigners to fly into Australia.

About 22 percent of Australians are foreign-born, but only about 12 percent of those elected to the federal Parliament are foreign born.

'Employers urged to check ID of casual workers," AAP Newsfeed, March 19, 1999.
Michael McKinnon, "Illegal migrant fraud ring broker," The Australian, March 15, 1999.
"Opposition wants defense forces to patrol Queensland's coastline," Australian Broadcasting Corp., March 15, 1999.
"Beattie heads north to discuss coastal surveillance," Australian Broadcasting Corp., March 15, 1999.
Janine McDonald, "Ethnic mix not reflected in Mps," The Age, March 12, 1999.
Anthony Hoy, "Canberra's crackdown on illegal farm workers has raised the temperature in rural regions desperate for people to do the jobs no locals want," Sydney Morning Herald, March 10, 1999.