Speaking in Parliament, Member for Burnett, Stephen Bennett has condemned unscrupulous labour operators on behalf of local labour hire firms.
“The Burnett and Childers areas are part of the ‘food bowl’ of Queensland, and it’s no surprise that visiting backpackers are an important part of growers’ ability to plant and harvest”, he said.
“Legitimate businesses and workers face an ongoing problem because of illegal and disreputable labour hire and harvesting contractors.
“The many credible and compliant contractors operating labour services with international visitors are losing profitability, and there are fair work practices not being met by these dodgy operators.
“The Member for Hinkler, Paul Neville and I have been meeting with the local industry, talking about these dubious businesses. Most of them operate a cashless, paperless operation – and we believe the Australian Tax office is well aware of it. Yet no action is taken to deal with the illegal operations, or the abuse of employees who don’t get paid what they’re owed, and who miss out on superannuation entitlements.
“I’m also concerned about the dangers for backpackers who are exposed to unsafe working conditions, and poor workplace health and safety practices.
“Three significant employers in my electorate have gone out of business in the last two years, and suffered media attention over unpaid wages and entitlements. The reality is that in most cases, the labour hire contractors were responsible for the unpaid wages.
“Investigations in the past have failed to stop unscrupulous operators from abusing the system, and there have been no effective prosecutions. The Federal government has failed to permanently deal with these dodgy operators. It’s affecting our growers and contractors who are doing the right thing.
“Every bad experience, every international worker and backpacker who is treated badly has a terrible flow on effect on our region’s reputation and serious effects on our tourism.
“Mr Neville has called for a doubling of government agencies’ commitments. There is enough evidence for a well-coordinated cross-departmental taskforce and flying squads that include ATO, ASIC, Immigration and Fair Work Australia, backed up with Police to crack down on these crooks.
“Enough is enough: our society should demand that these practices are stopped.”