Australia, NZ to assist guest workers send remittances
Updated
Australia is combining with New Zealand to try and make it easier for guest workers from eight Pacific island nations to get their money back to their island homes while they are working overseas.
The Australian government says money being sent back home by Pacific Islanders working overseas is annually worth over $A430 million, but the cost of getting that money back to relatives through telegraphic transfer is quite high, making it difficult for many.
Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith says Australia and New Zealand are to fund a website which he says will help in transferring the money home from the two countries.
He says the website which will be modelled on a successful European scheme will allow migrant workers from a number of Pacific countries to compare such things as cost of transferring money and also exchange rates when sending back their earnings.
The eight Pacific countries concerned are Fiji, Kiribati, PNG, Solomons, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Samoa.
Smith 'unconcerned' over migrant worker opposition
Meantime, Mr Smith says he is not worried about claims from his opposition counterpart that the coalition will not support a proposed unskilled migrant workers which is expected to be unveiled by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd within a fortnight.
Pacific Correspondent Campbell Cooney reports that if adopted, the trial unskilled migrant worker scheme will allow Pacific Islanders to meet some of the seasonal employment needs of Australia's farmers.
But Australia's opposition Foreign Affairs spokesman Andrew Robb says, there hasn't been enough debate.
"There are a whole lot of important issues which will dictate our attitude," he said.
However Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith has dismissed the opposition response, saying it's immaterial.
"I'm not sure the Liberal Party knows what it stands for, or what it wants to stand for," he said.
"We'll make our own judgement, and the community will make theirs."
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is expected to announce that his government will adopt the pilot scheme when he attends the Pacific Forum Leaders Meeting in Niue later this month.
