Dear Indy,

Anything is worth a try to save our farmers and our
agricultural produce. Not so sure about National Service.
But its worth a try. And certainly it's worth getting
the unemployed young people to contribute something in
return for the money they're receiving.

Foxy,
To start off with changing for a well overdue change, we have to do two things. Let young unemployed people make a choice as outlined so well by Armchair critic. Then, let them experience the outcome of their choice.
I'd say there'd only be the standard dills who dispute that there's a desperate need for a change.
What is needed is to get unemployed & homeless people off the streets & give them hope !
This is particularly important for the young.
Being away from the soul-less concrete jungle & spending their days actively involved with others & knowing they'll get a good feed & a dry bed should only be unattractive to the already utterly lost !

Aidan,

The pandemic has cut off the almost endless supply of cheap Chinese labour so now the likes of pseudo-mouth and pseudo-individual and Phil turn their minds to feeding off the misfortunes of the younger generation of Australians who are currently in a vulnerable position.

You have to keep in mind that all those cheap Chinese migrant workers have been keeping a lot of people on OLO in good pensions and concomitant lifestyles.

And old Scotty boy will be trying his hardest to restore the social system that feeds their desires.

Mr Opinion: Very few farms in Australia have Chinese workers. Indeed if there is a farm with a lot of Chinese workers than it is most likely that they are breaking the law (they would be hiring illegal immigrants).

The source of the majority overseas labour that farmers rely on is:
- Primarily backpackers on one year working holiday visas with an optional extension to two years on completion of about 90 days of work in designated regional/rural areas (ie: the 471 visa). These visas are not available to general Mainland Chinese. Indeed backpackers from very few countries are eligible for this visa: only those from most of the EU (including UK), Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The main reason why these backpackers work on farms is to qualify for the second year extension. Most will return straight back to the cities for more work once they have secured their extension.
By-the-way, the other type of working holiday visa is the 462. People with passports from: Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Poland, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, USA, Uruguay may qualify for this visa. However, this visa has more stringent requirements than the 471, such as for many the countries listed you need to have a minimum of two years university level education. And this visa doesn't offer the second year extension, because of this very few with this visa would ever work on a farm.

- Long term/permanent migrants. The main break down of migrants in Australia are those are allowed as a)Refugees and the like, b)have a connection to family here, c)can prove that they can support themselves and will have a positive economic impact- either because they are rich and/or are skilled and d)New Zealanders. Category "c" folk, although some are Chinese, are not going to work on farms. Some of "b" do work on farms though not many, most commonly their family will be in the city and they can get work and support from/through them.

-- continued below --

-- continued from above --

A fair portion of (a) do work on farms, typically those with no/low skill, no/poor English but in general refugees are typically NOT Chinese (Except for the special case in 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre Australia in the main doesn't accept wholesale numbers of Chinese citizens as refugees).

- Some special rural work programs for citizens of specific small Pacific nations

- Some overseas students on study visas. But these visas are restrictive, they only allow a max of 20 hr/wk work during study times but unlimited hours during holidays. During study periods they almost certainly won't by working on farms. During the holidays some do, but most don't since either they return home or stay in their leased/rented accommodation in the city and earn more in the city than they would on a farm.

- Illegals

thinkabit,

Fair enough.

But I wasn't inferring that outsourced labour on farms was all Chinese.

The use of low paid Chinese workers is mostly in the cities.

But the point still is that Morrison is anxious to open the international border in order to flood the country with low paid migrant workers. (As well as bring in cashed up Chinese to stimulate the economy.)

That's the reason he is at loggerheads with Victoria and Qld on state borders. He needs them to open first so that he can justify opening the international border.

Personally I think Andrews should just say he'll do exactly what Morrison is telling him to do and remove restrictions and when the virus gets out of control again just blame Morrison because it was he who demanded Andrews to remove Victoria's program to contain the virus.