PALM Economic Data

Question

Senator SHOEBRIDGE: I do, and I think I may have unintentionally demoted President Ramos-Horta to Prime Minister, and I apologise for that. What is clear from the 2022 data, which is the last data published under the scheme-which the president was referring to-is that, of the $1 billion that was generated under the PALM scheme for wages, just $184 million made it back to the countries where the workers homes are. The data shows-I think it was $999 million, and 30 per cent went to the employer in direct profits, 15 per cent went to the Australian government in tax, 21 per cent was spent by the workers while they were here and only 18 per cent went to Pacific countries. That was the data that the president was referring to. On the face of it, you can understand the criticism he's making on an economic point. That is the latest data that's been published-the 2022 data. Ms Hutton: We publish data on the PALM program regularly. The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations collects and publishes data on the number of workers in Australia and their locations and occupations. Going to what I think is the premise of your question, yes, the PALM scheme provides an economic benefit to all the partners in that scheme. Without a doubt, it provides a very significant economic contribution to our own economy, particularly in our rural and regional areas. It also provides a significant economic contribution to individual workers. They are remitting, on average, around $1,500 every month and a significant contribution to their home economies as well, both through remittances and the skills dividend that the government has embedded in the PALM scheme. Senator SHOEBRIDGE: NGOs who follow this have been unable to find that economic data published since 2022. I know there is data on numbers, country of origin and the nature of the work that's been performed, but is there economic data equivalent to that of 2022 that's been published on an annual basis? If so, where is it found? Ms Hutton: There is data. Some of it is collected from independent sources. We commissioned a survey of PALM workers, conducted by the ANU and the World Bank; I think it was the largest survey undertaken of our labour mobility scheme. That data has been made public and I've made presentations using that data. The data from that survey focuses on the experience of our PALM workers. One of the key data points was that 98 per cent of workers surveyed said they would recommend that scheme to others. Senator Wong: I'm sorry we haven't been able to respond directly on why the remittances data has not been ascertainable. Can we please take it on notice, because I would like to understand why. We made some changes, when we came to government, to which department was responsible for what aspects of PALM. Aspects of PALM compliance et cetera were shifted to DEWR. Can you leave that with us. I've seen data on that; when I go to other countries, my country brief usually has how much the remittances are and what proportion of GDP they recognise. Unless one of the officials or someone behind me can add some light to it, we will try and come back to you on that. It may be published elsewhere, but can you leave that with us? Senator SHOEBRIDGE: I can.

Answer

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