6 days ago
We asked for workers and got people — inside the temporary visa scheme putting food on your plate
Who picks and processes those yummy strawberries you're about to put in your shopping trolley, or the crisp veggies you might stir-fry tonight?
Did you know it could be a nurse or a police officer from a Pacific Island or Timor Leste on a temporary seasonal visa?
A workforce we rarely hear about, lives in limbo, and stories from the coalface.
From economic gains and cultural exchanges to exploitation and absconding, what are the successes and problems of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme?
Join Natasha Mitchell and guests for this event organised by Griffith University and the Australian National University, and held at the ANU.
Speakers
Dr Kaya Barry
Cultural Geographer, artist, senior lecturer, DECRA Research Fellow
Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University
Nunes Cosbar
Musician, photographer, horticultural employee in Australia on a PALM visa.
Band member with Lian Husi Timor
Ken Dachi
Coordinator, Welcoming Workplaces with Welcoming Australia
Ema Vueti
President, Pacific Islands Council of Queensland (PICQ)
Thanks also to Dr Matt Withers (ANU South Asia Research Institute) and Dr Kirstie Petrou (School of Humanities and Social Sciences, UNSW Canberra)
Further information
The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme
Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV) scheme
Turbulent Times: The State of Backpacking and Seasonal Farm Work in Australia (2023)
Temporary: We Wanted Workers, We Got People photographic exhibition (2025)
Home abortions and hiding pregnancy, ANU research reveals hard realities for migrant workers (ABC News, June 2025)
RMIT Report reveals grim reality for Australia's migrant meat workers (February 2025)
Modern slavery report uncovers dark side to PALM visa scheme leaving vulnerable workers homeless and destitute (ABC News, September 2024)
Timorese abattoir workers perform at Port Fairy Folk Festival after call for musos (ABC Australia short film, April 2024)
