The Regional Migration-Development Nexus in Australia: What Migration? Whose Development?

Abstract

Both regional resettlement of refugees, and the attraction of different kinds of migrant labor to regional areas, have been significant trends in Australia’s recent migration policies. Using the concept of the migration-development nexus, we address important questions about the nature and scope of development these different policies aim to promote, and achieve. We examine the intersection of policies and initiatives implemented to encourage and support refugee settlement and regional migration in Australia with the perspectives of regionally settled migrants and refugees on their regional migration outcomes. We argue that recent government policies, and multi-stakeholder initiatives aimed at regional migration and/or settlement, cast migrants as differential contributors to regional development, useful either in terms of their skills (skilled migrants) or their labor (backpackers, seasonal workers, refugees). The co-presence of different groups of migrants in regional locations is also shaped by the fluctuating employer demands for mobile labor in combination with visa regulations. We draw on data from three projects on regional settlement, multiculturalism and mobilities to analyze three important elements of regional migration that are central to a critical analysis of the nexus between rural migration and development in regional Australia: the complex roles of employers; the embedding of regional migration in migrants’ life courses; and the tension between long-term migration outcomes and quick fixes. By focusing on development as it is experienced by migrants themselves and interpreted by different stakeholders in regional migration, we draw attention to the limitations of a purely instrumental view of migrants as agents of regional development. We argue that the sustainability of regional migration policies will depend on recognizing the important role of migrants’ hopes, needs and aspirations as well as their rights, and the unintended human costs and consequences of exclusively economically driven migration policy design.

International backpackers' experiences of precarious visa-contingent farmwork

“…Productivity is limited by workforce supply and demand (National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine, 2021), particularly in agricultural sectors with a seasonal workforce (Azarias et al, 2020). In the Australian context of the present research, agriculture is dependent on seasonal workers who may be sourced from overseas through various visa programs (Azarias et al, 2020;Boese and Moran, 2021;Howe et al, 2019. One segment of the seasonal workforce is young people travelling the world on a "working holiday", colloquially called "backpackers", who are the most common category of overseas workers on farms, and serve as an attractive supply of low-cost labor that can be sourced in large numbers to fill short-term positions during peak production (Dufty et al, 2019;.…”

“…While the working holiday visa scheme has often been viewed as valuable in terms of backpackers as a labor source (Azarias et al, 2020;Boese and Moran, 2021), who farmers regard as preferable to local Australian workers , the scheme also meets a cultural exchange objective by giving backpackers the opportunity to see rural parts of Australia, outside of the cities and main tourist destinations, while earning money to continue their travels (Iaquinto, 2018). Backpackers typically have different motivations to migrants who intend to permanently make their lives in Australia; instead, for backpackers, the working vacation may be experienced as but an adventurous moment in life, without a plan to settle in a new country (Boese and Moran, 2021). Participating in farmwork is an activity that provides access to new geographical and cultural contexts where there are opportunities for building relationships with members of the local rural community and fellow workers from other countries (Underhill and Rimmer, 2016).…”

“…Notwithstanding the potential positive benefits of exploring a country, its rural locations and meeting new people, Anderson's (2018) research found evidence that social isolation and minimal engagement with the rural communities were common. Furthermore, residing in work camp group accommodation, known as "backpacker hostels", may diminish workers' potential to engage with local communities (Boese and Moran, 2021). Thus, the idealized picture of a bucolic sojourn remains unrealized.…”

“…Exploitation of migrant workers in agriculture is not uncommon and is evident in several nations, including Australia (Boese and Moran, 2021;Meldrum-Hanna et al, 2015). The Australian Government's National Agricultural Workforce Strategy (Azarias et al, 2020) acknowledges improper recruitment and management practices, and exploitation of seasonal workers, such that "the image of the nation as a destination for agricultural workers is tarnished" (p. 20).…”

“…In the context of the seasonal and itinerant nature of the work per se, and evidence of structural problems underpinning exploitative practices (Azarias, et al, 2020;Boese and Moran, 2021;FWO, 2016;Howe et al, 2019, backpacker farmwork may be conceptualized as precarious employment , which objectively entails employment insecurity, income inadequacy and diminished rights and conditions (Kreshpaj et al, 2020). Recent scholarship within the vocational psychology and career development literature (Allan et al, 2021) conceptualizes the subjective experiences of precarity of work (i.e.…”