$10 million campaign to bring backpackers to the New England Electorate

30 Oct 2016

 

  • $10 million global campaign to attract working holiday makers
  • Campaign will target United Kingdom, Ireland, France, German and Italy
  • reducing visa application charges for working holiday makers by $50 to $390

 

The Deputy Prime Minister and Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce said the Coalition Government is launching a global $10 million campaign to attract more working holiday makers to Australia.

 

Mr Joyce said the campaign builds on the Coalition’s recent reform package, which will make Australia a world-leading destination for young people to undertake a working holiday.


“Combined with Australia’s natural beauty and safety, conditions are ripe for a backpacker boost,” he said.

Mr Joyce said the three-year campaign will target the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany and Italy to boost the number of working holiday maker arrivals.

“The campaign, by Tourism Australia, invites young people around the world to come to Australia for a life-changing experience, working and holidaying in our beautiful country,” he said.

 

Mr Joyce said working holiday makers are an important part of Australia’s tourism industry; with more than 320,000 working holiday makers spending around $3 billion in Australia in the last year.

“I’ll be working with local tourism operators to ensure our region makes the most of this new campaign.”
 

Ridley Bell, Principal of the Mountain Blue Farm, a blueberry orchard at Tabulam on the edge of the New England Electorate, welcomed the initiative to attract more working holiday-makers.

 

He said his business had about 450 casual employees working on the harvest at present.

 

“Most of them are backpackers, we wouldn’t have a business without them,” Mr Bell said.

 

Mountain Blue Farms opened a $4.5 million packing house earlier in the year, which is serviced by a total of 180ha of blueberries.

 

Key highlights of the Turnbull-Joyce Government’s reform package include:

  • offering working holiday makers the highest post-tax income among comparable countries with a tax rate at 19 per cent;
  • allowing more tourists to become working holiday makers, with the age limit increasing from 30 to 35 years old;
  • reducing visa application charges for working holiday makers by $50 to $390; and
  • allowing working holiday makers to work for the same employer for 12 months, provided the second six months is in a different region.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce with Mountain Blue Farms principal Ridley Bell.

 

 

 

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