From george.carter at anu.edu.au Mon May 19 15:52:17 2025 From: george.carter at anu.edu.au (George Carter) Date: Mon, 19 May 2025 05:52:17 +0000 Subject: [ANU Pacific.Institute] May 22, 2025: Special Symposium: Empowering Impact of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme on Tonga and Australia Message-ID: Dear Members of Pacific Institute You are invited to a special conference hosted by the Tongan High Commission in Australia co-hosted by the ANU Pacific Institute Title: The Empowering Impact of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme on Tonga and Australia Date: Thursday, May 22, 2025 Time 9.00am-3.00pm Venue: Physics Auditorium, ANU Research School of Physics 60 Mills Rd Acton, Australia [cid:image003.png at 01DBC8D5.F46BB410] The Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP) and the Pacific Labour Scheme(PLS), currently referred to as the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM Scheme), was introduced by the Australian Government in December 2011 and officially commenced in 2012. Tonga has been engaged in bilateral labour agreements with Australia and New Zealand since 2007, fostering a strong collaboration in this area. In September 2021, the Australian Government announced the rebranding of the SWP and the PLS to the PALM scheme. The SWP and the PLS were consolidated into the single PALM scheme in July 2023 under a single program PALM deed and Guidelines. This initiative provides unskilled, low-skilled and semi-skilled work opportunities for short-term placements of up to 9 months or long-term placements between one and four years in rural and regional areas, encompassing vital sectors such as agriculture, agriculture-related food product manufacturing, tourism, hospitality, and aged care. By December 2024, Australia through the PALM scheme had employed up to five thousand Tongan workers in these essential industries. A commitment to mutual economic development underscores the objectives of the bilateral agreement between Tonga and Australia. The PALM scheme aims to create valuable employment opportunities, facilitate remittances, and offer upskilling pathways, that has and will continue to benefit Australia and Tonga?s economies. Moreover, the PALM scheme represents a significant development opportunity for Tonga, providing financial support directly to local communities. This assistance addresses the everyday needs of families and fosters contributions to local villages, families, and churches, thereby strengthening community ties and enhancing overall well-being. The objective of the conference for recognition of the positive impacts of the PALM scheme is to showcase success stories from Tongan workers throughout Australia. - Exchange and sharing of success stories. - Exchange and share the benefits of the PALM scheme between Tonga and Australia. - Identify success stories that contributes to the positive demand for Tongan workers. - Identifying potential challenges from Tonga perspectives that may affect the PALM scheme. - Outlining actionable next steps to maximize benefits for Tongan workers and ensure the continuity of the PALM scheme. - What can Tonga contribute to further improve the existing arrangements to assist with other sectors that Tongan workers can contribute to? Thank you and regards. George Carter --------------------------- Sal? Dr. George Carter Email: george.carter at anu.edu.au Deputy Head of Department / Senior Fellow Department of Pacific Affairs I Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs Director ANU Pacific Institute College of Asia and the Pacific The Australian National University Room 2.263, Coombs Building 9 Fellows Road Canberra,ACT, 2601 T: +61 2 6125 6314 http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/ CRICOS Provider # 00120C [image003.png] [image001.png] CAUTION: The contents of this email including any attachments are solely intended for the recipient (s) and are confidential. No part of this email is to be reproduced in any form, adapted or transmitted to anyone without the written consent of the author. If you are not the named recipient (s) please advise me by reply electronic mail that you have received this message in error -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Wednesday (TODAY) 21 May 2:30pm - 3:30pm (AEST) ?In person at Coombs Seminar Room C and online Further information and registration: https://bellschool.anu.edu.au/event/disability-inclusion-solomon-islands-politics-and-elections 'Decolonisation Interrupted: West Papua, the UN and the Limites of Self-Determination': Visiting scholar Emma Kluge, lecturer in colonial and environmental history at the University of Exeter, Cornwall. Details are below. ? Thursday 22 May 2:00pm - 3:00pm (AEST) ?In person at Coombs Seminar Room F and online Further information and registration: https://bellschool.anu.edu.au/event/decolonisation-interrupted-west-papua-un-and-limits-self-determination Kind regards, Nick Hoare Lecturer and Pacific History Research Fellow Department of Pacific Affairs Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs ANU College of Asia and the Pacific H.C. Coombs Building, # 9, Room 2.265 The Australian National University Canberra ACT 2600 [cid:eb8fa598-26f4-4c96-9210-c40968b8612d] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Outlook-ig5gsax0.png Type: image/png Size: 1362462 bytes Desc: Outlook-ig5gsax0.png URL: