A free trade agreement between Australia and Indonesia will soon allow thousands of Indonesians to enter Australia on working holiday visas.
Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said a “few thousand” people will be given entry into the country and more student visa quotas will be added, Bega District News reported. He told Sky News that the number is important despite being relatively small.
Birmingham added that two-way trade with Indonesia is already worth AUD16.5 billion (US$11.83 billion), and that the opportunity to become the fifth-largest economy in the world is on Australia’s doorstep, The Australian reported.
He also said that the deal would benefit multiple economic sectors, including healthcare, education, agriculture and the metals industry. “Almost all sectors are going to see a significant lift,” said the Australian senator.
The main concern for both parties is to see increasing investment in both directions.
Last Friday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indonesian President Joao Widodo signed a memorandum of understanding that committed the two countries to get a deal signed before December 25. The deal will reportedly remove all Australian import duties and cut out 99% of export taxes.
Some Australians are not taking the deal well. They believe the agreement will mean the introduction of more cheap labor for big business, which will undermine the local workforce.
I wonder if the terms of these working holiday visas will change. When we looked into it a couple of months ago after spotting an ad in an Indonesian paper, we were shocked when we found out the details. These working holdiay visas are all work and no holiday. It’s a form of indentured labour to the farming sector, where the applicant committs for a year to work on a farm. The cost of the visa through an agent was thousands of dollars, taking a couple of months of work just to break even. Compare that with the European working holiday visas which cost 450$, and applicants can work as much or little as they want. Only if they want to extend for another year do they have to show a 3 months continuous work in a remote or farm job. The racial discrimination is astounding!
Hi Frank, I’m a bit sceptical and surprised to hear you say this… can you share the details, links etc?