Australia's fire ant invasion problem has moved from concerns about chronic eradication program underfunding to non-compliance of property owners fuelled by Facebook discussion

 

For the last forty-three years that invasive species, the Fire Ant, has been increasing in number and territory until now it infests around 830,000 ha in South East Queensland, close to the Qld-NSW border, and in recent years has been found as far south in New South Wales as Murwillumbah in November 2023 and Wardell, near Ballina, in January 2024.

The Fire Ant infestation program began to move beyond a target of total eradication to one of suppression and containment after the Queensland Newman Coalition Government in 2012 cut 45 jobs from its fire ant eradication program and reduced state funding by 50 per cent to about $1.1 million for the next year.

In an August 2023 media release the Invasive Species Council revealed the existence of government documents that detailed at least a $49 million shortfall in fire ant funding for 2023/24, risking the spread of the super pest across Australia.

"The explosive documents reveal that, due to insufficient funding, eradication and surveillance on the ground in Queensland this year has been cut in half from what is needed.

They also reveal that there will be no systematic action to stop the westward or northern spread of fire ants, with action confined to stopping the spread into NSW."

Mainstream and social media are now reporting espisodes involving non-compliant property owners and "government eradicators".

Non-compliance increases the risk infestations will spread even further across Queenland and deeper into New South Wales.

Quotes from Facebook account "Stop the toxic fire ant poisoning":

• "Pseudoscience, false and misleading information, and complete lies and gaslighting are used to justify their dangerous approach to eradicate fire ants, which many experts publicly state is now impossible."

• "The toxic fire ant eradication program by the Australian Government is killing dogs, cats, cows, horses, bees, birds and many other animals and insects.
  This is how to stop them entering your property..."

It is noted that the two insecticides currently listed as used in the Qld fire ant eradication program are hydramethylnon & pyriproxyfen.  Both products approved by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) and commonly found in cockroach baits or flea collars. While in NSW APVMA-approved pyriproxyfen, s-methoprene and fipronil are used, with the latter approved only for direct injection into fire ant nests.

The Daily Telegraph, "Bombshell report reveals fire ants could kill six people a year, cost homes $110m+", 13 October 2024, excerpts:

A notorious pest could cause up to six deaths, lead to 116,000 medical visits and cost households $118m a year if allowed to spread uncontrolled across one Aussie state, a bombshell report has found.

The chilling warning comes as biosecurity authorities scramble to contain the spread of the red imported fire ant, which has rapidly spread across Queensland and even extended down into NSW.

But recent eradication attempts in Queensland are facing a difficult step as landholders – concerned about the ant bait being “toxic” and fearing its impacts on the ecosystem and their livestock – face off with government eradicators.

Some are now refusing entry to treatment officers attempting to spread the bait, which is also found in fly sprays and pet flea tablets.

The ongoing tension has led to police stepping in amid mounting stand-offs with the mandatory treatment program...

Police called in to assist with landowner stand-offs

Treating officers working under the NFAEP are allowed under law to enter Queensland properties for eradication without the consent of owners.

The program still maintains preference to work with landowners to undertake eradication at a time that suits their convenience – informing owners of the planned eradication through letterbox drops, emails, phone calls and texts.

But stand-offs have emerged between some owners and eradication officers who are refused entry.

One Facebook group calling on people to stop the “toxic” program urges landowners to refuse entry, erect signs warning of trespassing and provide a “reasonable excuse” under the Biosecurity Act 2014 to stop entry.

In some posts, landowners are seen confronting eradication staff.

People face hefty fines for obstructing designated officers under Queensland law.

In a statement, Queensland Police confirmed it had been requested to assist some NFAEP staff by “facilitating access to properties where occupants are not compliant with the treatment process”.

“Special duties officers will be allocated to this task, ensuring no impact on the delivery of frontline services,” a police spokeswoman said.

“This collaboration aims to support biosecurity efforts while maintaining essential policing operations.”

It's the state and territory governments more than the federal government which are going to decide renters ability to attain & retain housing in the near future

 

In Australia there is evidence to suggest that by 2022 there were est. 640,000 Australian households whose housing needs were not being met. 

These households are either experiencing homelessness, in overcrowded homes or spending over 30% of their income on rent.

This unmet housing need is projected to increase to 940,000 households in 2041.

In a November 2022 the Community Housing Industry Association released a report noting the unmet need in states/territories/regions by number and percentage of all households. 

CHIA, Nov 2022, “Quantifying Australia’s unmet housing need: A national snapshot”, p.2

On 29 June 2022 The Guardian reported:

The public housing waiting list across all jurisdictions rose by more than 8,000 households last year, from 155,141 to 163,508. Most of the increase was among households considered “in greatest need”. While for the last nine years social housing stock remained static at est. 4.2% of all housing stock.

The National Cabinet meeting last Friday, 28 April 2023, ended with these joint announcements by the Prime Minister and state & territories leaders, according to ABC News:

• National cabinet has endorsed $2.2b in measures to strengthen Medicare

• The announcements include expanding the nursing workforce to improve access to primary care and incentives for doctors to stay open for longer hours

• Housing ministers will develop a proposal outlining ways to strengthen renters rights, which will be dealt with by national cabinet later in the year

• Work will be undertaken to improve the migration system through increased visa processing capacity and expanding pathways to permanent residency for skilled workers. [my yellow highlighting]

What is clear is that although there may be the intention that a guiding statement on renters rights will eventually be produced by the National Cabinet, it will be left to individual states and territories to decide how and to what degree renters rights will be strengthened.

As for the built-to-rent component of any national plan to increase housing stock, Master Builders Australia sent out a media release immediately after this National Cabinet meeting welcoming a national approach to reforms to address the housing crisis which stated in part:

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said the decision to tackle infrastructure investment, planning reforms to increase housing supply and affordability alongside sustainable growth across states and territories is an important signal for the industry.

“Industry will work closely with the Planning Ministers and National Cabinet to ensure all options are on the table and there are no unintended consequences of other reforms that may dampen this effort,” said Ms Wawn.

The Commonwealth Government also announced a series of other measures to boost investment for increasing housing supply including: increasing the depreciation rate [from 2% to 4%] for eligible new build-to-rent projects, and reducing the withholding tax rate for eligible fund payments for managed investment trusts to foreign residents on income from newly constructed residential build-to-rent properties.

However, Master Builders Australia went on to make an ambit claim for further reform:

“More needs to be done to speed up the delivery of new housing in the medium and high-density part of the market over the short term. Government efforts to expand the stock of build-to-rent will provide welcome support.

“The challenge will be to make sure that we put downward pressure on building and construction costs to increase output.

“Builders continue to face regulatory burdens and prolonged delays in approvals for building applications, occupation certificates and land titles. Additionally, land shortages in the wrong places, high developer charges and inflexible planning laws are restricting opportunities to meet demand, speed up project timelines, and minimise costs to both builders and their clients,” Ms Wawn said.

Master Builders’ Delivering the housing needs for all Australians recommends policies around housing supply, workforce, supply chain risk and cost pressures, simplifying regulatory settings that support investment in housing and business productivity.

The Property Council of Australia is also in favour of what it classes on its website News & Research page as the emerging build-to-rent sector.

It sees this sector as having the potential to deliver 150,000 new build-to-rent homes into the rental market in the next 10 years (by 2043) and says of a report it commissioned from Ernst Young and published on 4 April 2023:

.. estimates that the current size of the build-to-rent sector in Australia is $16.87 billion (this equates to roughly 0.2 per cent of the total value of the residential housing sector), with the expectation that this value will continue to grow in the coming years. If it reached just 3 per cent of the residential market, it could be worth $290 billion.

In comparison, the build-to-rent sector comprises of 5.4 per cent of the total value of the residential sector in the UK and 12 per cent in the US.

The Housing Industry Association also issued a media release on 28 April 2023 welcoming the National Cabinet’s agreement today to support a range of reforms to address housing supply, stating:

HIA’s Deputy Managing Director – Industry and Policy, Jocelyn Martin said the decision to tackle planning reforms to increase housing supply and affordability ultimately leads to more affordable rental accommodation and provides the capacity to deliver social housing without impacting housing supply more broadly.

On the part of federal and state governments there appears to be an aversion to their having direct ownership of any project building social housing and, on the part of finance and construction industries – along with property developers and investors – there appears to be a similar aversion to such a direct supply of social housing by the first two tiers of government.

Perhaps the smell of desperation in the air – with 243 construction businesses put into insolvency by the Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) in March 2023 alone, joining an unspecified number of other construction, registered property investment and/or property development corporations within the January to March 1,879 businesses-strong insolvency list – has the National Cabinet seeking to resuscitate more than one bird with its housing funding commitments. 

Note: Searchable ASIC list can be found at

https://publishednotices.asic.gov.au/browsesearch-notices/

All these government and non-government actors appear to be suggesting that: after relaxing planning laws; increasing investment opportunities along with potential profits for all classes of investors; and the possibility for individuals, partnerships & corporations to access grants & other benefits in the proposed $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund; then market forces will inevitably push rental costs down once housing supply increases even though the most optimistic rendition of proposed supply is unlikely to fully meet the nation's unmet secure residential housing need.

My admittedly jaded personal response to the idea that residential rents will significantly reduce over the next 10 years……

via GIPHY

I'm hoping that time will prove me wrong.

Long COVID aka post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) in 2023: no you are not imagining it nor being a malingerer. However research is in its infancy with regard to your often debilitating illness

 

First the good news. On 24 April 2023 the Minister For Health & Labor MP for Port Adelaide Mark Butler announced that The Australian Government will provide a further $50 million from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) for research into post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) – commonly known as Long COVID.

Bringing the Long COVID research funding pool to a total of $66.6 million and proving that parliamentary committee's can sometimes galvanise government.

The following is a slightly more mixed message, as at this stage prevention of Long COVID seems to rely on the implementation of public health measures the states and territories have long since abandoned in practice.

April 2023
CANBERRA

The 213-page report to the Australian Parliament by the House of Representatives Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport can be read and downloaded at:

https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportrep/RB000006/toc_pdf/SickandtiredCastingalongshadow.pdf

The Committee accepts the World Health Organisation (WHO) definition of Long COVID as being the continuation or development of new symptoms 3 months after the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection, with these symptoms lasting for at least 2 months with no other explanation. Debilitating symptoms can be wide ranging with over 200 being recorded by WHO.

It further accepts that the number of people in Australia who were diagnosed with COVID-19 and were at risk of or possibly went on to develop Long COVID could be anywhere between 228,039 to 2,280,399 individuals. The difficulty in tying down a more definitive figure when it comes to the number of Long COVID suffers is apparently hampered by the paucity of data which has been collected to date.

The report goes on to inform government that:

At this stage it does seem that specific treatments require more evidence of benefit before being specifically recommended, but this will become clearer over time. Certainly, most of the care needs to be provided by the primary care system, such as by GPs, nurses, and allied health professionals.

We will need to help schools, universities, and workplaces adapt to allow the gradual return of people with long COVID. We will also need to train health professionals in how to diagnose and manage long COVID patients.

Mental health issues are clearly an area of concern too, particularly as many suffering from long COVID are aged between 20 and 50 years old and have many concerns, such as family and/or work responsibilities, which place additional stresses on them.....

It is also of concern that women seem more likely to be affected by long COVID than men.

The Committee is also of the view that when it comes to infectious disease and its aftermath:

the development of a national Centre for Disease Control (CDC) within the Department of Health and Aged Care would be the most appropriate mechanism for data collection and linkage with the states and territories.

Likewise, there is much that we do not understand about the virus, such as the fact that it is likely changing from being an acute pandemic virus to now an endemic form.

Research will be very important in helping us understand the best ways and means of managing its ongoing effects, particularly including long COVID. Research should include individuals from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, culturally and linguistically diverse communities and other high-risk groups including those who are immunosuppressed.

A research program should be established to nationally coordinate and fund research into long COVID and COVID-19 generally. This could be led by the Department of Health and Aged Care — ideally the CDC — and should be the for the longer term.

Clearly, there has been a number of issues raised about reducing transmission of COVID19, such as improving air quality to reduce aerosol spread and this also has reference to broader health outcomes and requires investigation. 

In addressing the prevention of Long COVID the report states quite clearly:

The committee received evidence that emphasised that the best way to prevent long COVID is to prevent an initial COVID-19 infection.

For example, Professor Margaret Hellard, Director of Programs at the Burnet Institute, argued that while we don’t have a full understanding of long COVID, the most effective way to avoid it is to ‘try and stop COVID and reduce the number of COVID infections.

This position is supported by the National Clinical Evidence Taskforce on COVID-19 (NCET), which recommended the Australian Government clearly communicate to the public and to health care providers ‘that prevention of COVID-19 is the most-effective method of preventing long term health issues’ resulting from the virus.

However, this is difficult to achieve without access to other preventative methods given the highly infectious nature of current Omicron variants circulating in the community.

The NCET summarised:

With the shift away from mandated mask use and regular reporting of COVID-19 cases, and the recent removal of the requirement for isolation following confirmed infection, people may have the highly inaccurate impression that COVID-19 is “over”. There is a lack of messaging that potential health risks related to COVID19 continue to be relevant and that vaccines, mask use in crowded indoor spaces, testing and isolation are still a valuable way to decrease the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and mitigate the impact of long COVID.

The importance of mask wearing, physical distancing, hygiene and taking other health precautions when visiting high-risk settings cannot be underestimated.

However, the enforcement of these health measures is largely at state and territory government discretion, and to varying extents, now a matter of individual responsibility.

As for the Committee’s view on COVID-19 vaccination:

Booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are important to prevent waning immunity against the rapidly mutating COVID-19 virus.

On 8 February 2023 the Hon Mark Butler MP, Minister for Health and Aged Care, announced that from 20 February 2023 all adults who have not had a COVID-19 booster or a confirmed case in the past six months are eligible for a COVID-19 booster, irrespective of how many doses that person has received. Additional boosters for people under the age of 18 have not yet been announced, except where children aged 5 to 17 have health conditions that would put them at risk of severe illness.

Although COVID-19 vaccines are widely available and accessible, data suggests that many people are not electing to receive additional doses for which they are eligible. Professor Crabb AC suggested that this may be due to people becoming less aware of the risks associated with COVID-19 infections as the pandemic continues and commented on a general lack of motivation experienced by many people who received their first two doses but ‘don’t see the benefit’ in receiving booster doses......

The Committee made 9 recommendations to government which can be found on xxi & xxiv of the report.

From Berejiklian in 2018 through to Perrottet in 2023 - the many promises made by the NSW Coalition Government to fund redevelopment of Grafton Base Hospital

 

THE IDENTIFIED NEED

The Daily Examiner, 31 July 2018, p.1:

Grafton Base Hospital will offer inpatient mental health services when a $263.8million redevelopment is funded.

For the first time the Northern NSW Local Health District has made the hospital its number one priority in its Asset Strategic Plan for 2018/19.

The Daily Examiner, 20 October 2018, p.4:

In July the Northern NSW Local Health District made a rebuild of the hospital its top priority for the coming year at a cost of $263.8million.

It’s report on the priority listing noted the hospital was close to capacity with inpatient beds, emergency, renal dialysis and chemotherapy infrastructure expected to reach capacity by 2022 and infrastructure for ambulatory care services was to reach capacity in 2020.

It also noted the construction of Australia’s largest jail, due for completion south of Grafton at the end of 2020, would also place stresses on the region’s health services.

The Daily Examiner, 22 November 2018, p.5:

Clarence Valley Council has also thrown its support behind the redevelopment of the Grafton Base Hospital.

It will write to the premier, deputy premier, minister for health, and member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis expressing its support for the $263.8m redevelopment.

THE HALF-PROMISES BEGIN

The Daily Examiner, 8 December 2018, p.22:

More hospital funding remains in his sights with the potential $268 million rebuild of the tired piece of infrastructure.

The Daily Examiner, 19 December 2018, p. 9:

Mr Gulaptis said he was continuing to pressure the government to allocate the $268 million funding for the hospital…..

THE REPETITIVE PROMISES

Clarence Valley Independent, 13 March 2019:

Gulaptis promise of $263m Grafton Hospital overhaul

The Daily Examiner, 21 June 2019, p.3: 

The $263 million commitment to the Grafton Base Hospital redevelopment was made in the final weeks of the campaign in March and is just one of many major infrastructure promises outlined in the 2019-20 Budget Papers. However, there there was no specific line item in the 2019-20 Budget and Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis was quick to point out it would take time.”

The Daily Mercury, 31 July 2020:

HEALTH NEEDS CONTINUE UNMET

North Coast Voices, 21 February 2021:

PUBLIC HOSPITAL ELECTIVE SURGERY MEDIAN WAITING TIMES IN NORTH-EAST NSW......

Grafton Base Hospital:

Hip replacement - the median wait was 6 days in 2011-12 and blew out to 77 days by 2017-18 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at 67 days.

Total knee replacement - the median wait was 10 days in 2011-12 and blew out to 145 days by 2017-18 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at 135 days.

Shoulder joint replacement - the wait was 8 days in 2016-17 and blew out to 11 days by 2017-18 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at less than 5 days.

Ophthalmology - the median wait was 285 days in 2011-12 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at 326 days, the highest median waiting time in the last nine financial years.

Between July and September 2020 a total of 652 unspecified elective surgery procedures were performed.

Clarence Valley Independent, 10 August 2022: 

The Clarence Valley Independent hit the streets last week and asked members of the public to share their thoughts after the Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) revealed Grafton Base Hospital (GBH) had no on-site obstetrician, or available locums to cover shortages, and subsequently, expectant and birthing mothers were being referred to Lismore Base Hospital and Coffs Harbour Health Campus.

The NNSWLHD released a second statement two days later, announcing staff had altered their rosters to ensure previously advised gaps in specialist obstetrician cover were filled.....

THE PROMISES CONTINUE AND SO DO THE PROBLEMS

NSW Nationals, media release, 25 January 2023:

Regional Health and Mental Health Minister Bronnie Taylor, Nationals’ Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis, and Nationals’ candidate for Clarence Richie Williamson have announced a major step forward in the $264 million Grafton Base Hospital redevelopment.

ABC News, 25 January 2023:

After her knee replacement surgery was cancelled twice last year, Yamba woman Rosalind Walsh could not bear to think it might happen again.

The 72-year-old was scheduled this week for orthopaedic work at Grafton Base Hospital in northern New South Wales, but was called on the day by hospital management asking her to stay home.

"They just said, 'We don't have a bed'," Ms Walsh said.

"They said, 'We can't do the surgery, but you're still booked in'."

Anaesthetist & former Grafton Medical Staff Council chair Allan Tyson said there were real repercussions for people who missed out.

"It is common," he said.

"We have to say, 'Sorry, you have to go home because the surgery can't be done'.

"It's not just elective surgery, if you can't walk."

Dr Tyson said the Grafton hospital was operating well beyond its capacity.

"We've got 18 patients in a ward today that is funded for eight patients," he said.

"Last week our fly-in surgeon missed out on three or four joint surgeries that we should have done, but didn't have the bed space.

"In the end, it's our patients that miss out."

For Rosalind Walsh, however, a long wait outside the hospital was worth it.

The ABC understands hospital management was able to redirect patients from the emergency department, resulting in a spare bed so Ms Walsh could have her knee surgery & recover in hospital.

Paid doctors with nowhere to work

Northern NSW Local Health District chief executive Wayne Jones said surgeons, including those flying in to regional hospitals to help reduce elective surgery waitlists, were at times unable to operate.

"As chief executive it hurts to the bone to pay money I'm not getting a return on," he said.

"The reality is at times you can't avoid that.

"There is [an] unprecedented bed block that we're experiencing."

Mr Jones said administrators were planning as much as they could.

"It is worth noting that we're seeing a real decline in those overdue waits, over the last four or five months, as we're starting to develop more models of care," he said.

"We're doing surgery in our smaller facilities, we're freeing up beds & facilities in places like Grafton, so we are getting through more."

NSW Regional Health Minister Bronnie Taylor visited the hospital this week to commit to a new $274-million new hospital in Grafton — a similar pledge to a 2019 state election promise…...

Three years and seven months after making the commitment, Perrottet Government reluctant to transfer responsibility for 15,000km of regional roads back to state now many of these roads are wracked by flood damage?

 

Clarence Valley Independent, 4 November 2022:

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway has been forced to admit that not one single kilometre of a promised 15,000 kilometres of regional roads has been transferred from local councils to State ownership.

Under questioning by John Graham MLC during a recent Budget Estimates hearing, Minister Farraway could not bring himself to say the words “it is zero”, despite it being clear that zero roads have been transferred under the program.

The Minister dashed the hopes of regional motorists and cash-strapped regional councils that the glacial roll-out of the program would be sped up, saying the Government’s key 2019 election commitment is “not a burning topic” amongst regional councils.

The Minister also cast doubt on whether the full complement of 15,000 kilometres promised would be transferred, repeatedly stating that the policy was “up to” 15,000 kilometres.

Shadow Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison said the Minister’s evidence confirmed that the promise was a cynical attempt to pork barrel regional communities.

“This was a “magic pudding” election promise; every Nationals and Liberal candidate could point to a potential road in their electorate which could be eligible for reclassification or transfer, and the Government still, nearly four years later, hasn’t transferred a single one of them,” Ms Aitchison said.

The Labor candidate for Clarence Dr Leon Ankersmit said the promise clearly is a burning topic amongst locals whose tyres and cars are being wrecked by our potholes that are voluminous and crater deep … it is burning holes in their pockets.

“We’ve got priority regional roads in the Clarence Valley and Richmond Valley Councils that have been put on the back burner by this city-centric Government,” Dr Ankersmit said.

“When this policy was announced it was 15,000 kilometres of regional roads and then the dissembling started with ‘up to’.

“That is the whole problem with this particular election commitment; it has been short on action, vague on detail and has left local councils and locals in limbo land.”

“Clarence Valley Council is seeking to have a number of regional roads transferred to State ownership and management, but importantly, with council keeping state funded maintenance contracts to protect local outdoor jobs. Roads identified for transfer include Grafton to Yamba Road, Eight Mile Lane, Armidale Road, Orara Way, Wooli Road, Big River Way and Ulugundahi View; Iluka Road, Clarence Way, Tyringham Road, and Goodwood Island Road.

“Council is also seeking to have the following local roads reclassified to regional roads and transferred to the State: Angourie Road, Brooms Head Road, Gardiners Road, Amos Road and Palmers Channel South Bank Road, Coaldale Road, Rogans Bridge Road, Pringles Way, Ashby-Tullymorgan and Ashby-Jackybulbin Road, Old Glen Innes Road, Coldstream Road and Tucabia Road, and Sherwood Creek Road.”

Dr Ankersmit confirmed Clarence Valley Council wants to hand back all 378km of regional roads under its control or 15% of its total road network to the State Road network, also keeping maintenance contracts, with some relevant applications done in collaboration with neighbouring councils.

“This includes the full length of the Clarence Way.” Dr Ankersmit said.

“Richmond Valley Council is seeking to have Casino to Woodburn Road transferred to State ownership and what will be the Old Pacific Highway from Boundary Creek Road to South Woodburn Interchange to be a State asset with the State assuming responsibility for its maintenance.”

“However, at this point Richmond Valley Council has only been contacted about transferring the Broadwater to Evans Head Road from local to regional road. The issue about additional funds to Council to maintain the newly classified regional road has not been addressed.”

“Richmond Valley Council also nominated Naughtons Gap Rd (via East Street) from Bruxner Highway in Casino to the Lismore Kyogle Road to be re-classified from local to regional road, whilst remaining under Council control to protect local jobs.”

“Council also supported Kyogle and Lismore Councils in their proposal to have the Lismore Kyogle Road, as well as Lismore Coraki Road, and Wyrallah Road returned to the State.”…..

Around 10% of the Australian workforce are temporary migrants and overseas students - what help are we giving then during the COVID-19 pandemic?

UNSW Newsroom, media release, 17 September 2020:

A nationwide survey of more than 6000 international students and other temporary migrants conducted in July 2020 has found 70% lost all or most of their work during the pandemic. 

Thousands have been left unable to pay for food and rent. These migrants make up 10% of the Australian workforce. 

As if we weren’t humans: The abandonment of temporary migrants in Australia during COVID-19 is the latest report from UNSW Law Associate Professor Bassina Farbenblum and UTS Law Associate Professor Laurie Berg, co-directors of the Migrant Worker Justice Initiative. 

The survey revealed more than half the respondents (57%) believe their financial stress will deepen by year’s end, with one in three international students forecasting their funds will run out by October. Thousands expressed anguish and anger over the federal government’s decision to exclude temporary migrants from JobKeeper and JobSeeker support. 

Beyond their immediate humanitarian plight, hundreds linked their distress to the Prime Minister’s message that those unable to support themselves should “make [their] way home”. They expressed feelings of abandonment and worthlessness: “like we do not exist”, “they don’t see us. They can’t hear us”. 

In addition, a quarter experienced verbal racist abuse and a quarter reported people avoiding them because of their appearance. More than half of Chinese respondents reported experiencing either or both of these. 

“Over 1600 participants described being targeted with xenophobic slurs, treated as though they were infected with COVID because they looked Asian, or harassed for wearing a face mask”, says A/Prof. Farbenblum. 

“Many reported that because of their Asian appearance they were punched, hit, kicked, shoved, deliberately spat at or coughed on by passers-by in the street and on public transport.” 

For example, one female Vietnamese student said: “People were saying some racist comments and pushed me, saying that I was the reason for COVID and I should go away.” Another Chinese student said: “I have been harassed by teenagers and throwing eggs on my way home from school”. 

While previous studies have documented aspects of the financial hardship of temporary migrants, this is the first study that reveals the depth of social exclusion, racism and deeper emotional consequences of Australia’s policies, which have significantly impacted Australia’s global reputation. 

Following their pandemic experience, three in five international students, graduates and working holiday makers are now less likely or much less likely to recommend Australia as a place to study or have a working holiday. This includes important education markets such as Chinese and Nepalese students (76% and 69% respectively were now less likely to recommend Australia). 

“I feel [the] Australian government doesn't think of temporary visa holders as human beings but merely a money-making machine,” said one female Indian international student. “It’s appalling to see the PM consoling the citizens saying that we are all in this together but at the same time telling migrants to go back home in a pandemic.” 

Another international Master’s student observed, “It's completely hypocritical that we’re important for tax purposes, and in the sense that we contribute billions of dollars to the economy as university fees, but are treated as some breed of untouchables”. 

A/Prof. Berg says that Australia will bear the diplomatic and economic consequences of these policies for decades to come: 

“Many of those suffering in Australia now will return home to become leaders in business and politics, holding roles of social influence around the region. Their experiences during this period will not be quickly forgotten.” 

Read the full report.

Excerpt from the report: 

Current sources of financial support are deeply inadequate to meet need

• Since the first lockdown in March, a third (33%) of all respondents indicated they had sought emergency support to meet their essential needs (37% of international students).

• Charities and others provided food, one-off cash payments and other forms of emergency relief, but education providers were the source of the overwhelming majority of support received.

• Education provider support was limited to one-off payments, mostly to university students, among whom a quarter (26%) received support. Only one in ten students (11%) at private colleges received support. The overwhelming majority of those who received support got a one-off payment of under $1000.

• The Red Cross provided support to 2% of respondents. Two thirds of these were international students, among whom 68% received a one-off payment of $500 or less.

• State governments provided support to 4% of respondents, almost all of whom were international students.

• Close to a third (29%) indicated they did not seek emergency support because they were worried it might affect their visa. Visa concerns were a more common barrier among college students (33%) than university students (27%), and even more common for graduates (38%). Surprisingly, visa concerns were also identified by considerable proportions of TSS visa holders (26%).