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Tragedy in Texas: 3 people in custody after 46 migrants found dead inside truck

<p>Three people have been taken into custody in Texas after the bodies of 46 migrants were found dead in a truck. </p> <p>Authorities are continuing to work at the scene in San Antonio's south-west where the vehicle was found with the 46 people dead inside, according to Fire Chief Charles Hood. </p> <p>Sixteen people, including 12 adults and four children, were found alive and have been rushed to hospital.</p> <p>Chief Hood added that the survivors were all suffering heat-related injuries. </p> <p>Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard confirmed two of the survivors were from Guatemala.</p> <p>The truck was found next to railway track in a remote area of San Antonio, as Ebrard confirmed the vehicle had EU number plates designed to circulate without inspection.</p> <p>"Very likely the responsibility of traffickers," he said.</p> <p>San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said a worker nearby heard a cry for help around 5pm Texas time and went to investigate.</p> <p>"(They) found a trailer with the doors partially open and opened them up to take a look and found a number of deceased individuals inside," McManus said.</p> <p>Chief Hood said one body was discovered outside the truck, with the remainder of the deceased people being found inside the trailer. </p> <p>McManus said three people have been taken into custody however it is not clear whether they are "absolutely connected or not".</p> <p>He also added the tragedy is now a federal investigation as police officials work to determine an official cause of death. </p> <p>San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg called it a "horrific human tragedy".</p> <p>"We hope those who are responsible for putting these people in such inhumane conditions are prosecuted to the full extent of the law," he said.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

News

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The immigration numbers bidding war is pointless – there are limits to how many migrants Australia can accept

<p>Since late last year, various business lobby groups, the <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/australia-needs-explosive-surge-of-2-million-migrants-20211011-p58z0n" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NSW government</a>, management consultant <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/skilled-migrant-cap-stifles-economy-kpmg-analysis/news-story/dbeec35037ef1b117114bb8e6bdad394" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KPMG</a>, the <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/migration-boost-critical-to-recovery-business-council-20220217-p59xfc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Business Council</a> and now a number of <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-we-open-up-lets-open-up-big-top-economists-say-we-need-more-migrants-177359" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economists</a> have been throwing numbers around, talking up the need for higher levels of immigration.</p> <p>I have written previously on the <a href="https://johnmenadue.com/australias-facile-immigration-policy-debate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">facile nature</a> of the immigration debate in Australia, on the part of both the groups calling for “immigration to be cut wherever possible” and the groups calling for a bigger Australia.</p> <p>The problem is the debate focuses on targets and numbers for permanent migration, often confusing this permanent migration program with what matters for population which is net migration. At the same time, too little attention is paid to how migration targets would be delivered, the risks involved, and how the risks would be managed.</p> <p>So let’s start with basics.</p> <h2>What matters is net migration</h2> <p>The <a href="https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/migration-program-planning-levels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">official migration program</a> reflects the number of permanent resident visas issued in any one year, irrespective of whether the person is already in Australia (perhaps for a long time on a different sort of visa) or has been living overseas.</p> <p>Over the past 15 years, more than half of these permanent resident visas have been issued to people who have already been living long-term in Australia.</p> <p><a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/migration-australia/latest-release" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Net migration</a> as calculated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is a measure of long-term and permanent arrivals, including new people issued these visas, less departures of people who have been living long-term in Australia and intend to remain overseas for 12 out of the next 16 months.</p> <p>It is blind to visa status or citizenship.</p> <p>Net migration can fall sharply even when the migration program is large, as happened in <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/migration-australia/latest-release" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2014-15</a> when we had one of the largest permanent migration programs in Australia’s history, yet net migration fell to 180,000.</p> <p>A sharp fall in net migration is usually associated with a weak labour market leading to large outflows of Australians, or Australians deciding not to return, as happened in 1975-76, 1982-83, 1991-92 and 2008-09.</p> <p>On the other hand, even when the migration program is being cut, net migration can be forecast to rise. This is what happened in the 2019 budget, when Treasury forecast the <a href="https://archive.budget.gov.au/2019-20/bp1/download/bp1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highest</a> sustained level of net migration in our history, after a year in which the migration program was <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/plan-australias-future-population" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cut</a> from 190,000 to 160,000 per year.</p> <h2>How many migrants, and which ones?</h2> <p>Before discussing the various immigration targets that have recently been proposed, it’s useful to understand the government’s current forecasts and how it intends to deliver them – something surprisingly few do.</p> <p>The 2021-22 program has been set at <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/plan-australias-future-population" target="_blank" rel="noopener">160,000</a> per year. But Treasury’s 2021 Population Statement assumed to increase to <a href="https://population.gov.au/publications/statements/2021-population-statement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">190,000</a> per year from 2023-24.</p> <p>There is no official government commitment to this increase to 190,000 – and there probably won’t be ahead of the election. There has also been no indication of the composition of this larger program, or what might be needed to deliver it.</p> <p>Planning documents say the 2021-22 migration program will be <a href="https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/migration-program-planning-levels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">split evenly</a> between the family stream and the skill stream. This is because the government is at last clearing the very large <a href="https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/home-affairs-and-the-great-partner-visa-cover-up,14574" target="_blank" rel="noopener">backlog</a> of partner applications it (unlawfully in my view) allowed to build up.</p> <p>If the planned 72,000 partner visas in 2021-22 are delivered, the government might only need to allocate around 50,000 places for partners in future years because it will have cleared much of the backlog it has allowed to build up, which will result in a future overall family stream of around 60,000.</p> <p>This means that to deliver its total program of 160,000 from 2022-23, the government will need an extra 22,000 skilled migrants, and from 2023-24 when the total program increases to 190,000, an extra 52,000 skilled migrants.</p> <p>The current skill stream planning level of 79,600 has four main components.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/employing-and-sponsoring-someone/sponsoring-workers/learn-about-sponsoring" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Employer-sponsored migration</a>: 23,503</li> </ul> <p>There is scope to boost the number of these visas by processing them faster. However, even with a very strong labour market, it is highly unlikely that demand would rise much above 35,000 per year, especially if a more robust minimum salary requirement and strong monitoring of compliance with employer obligations are re-introduced to minimise the risk of wage theft.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/business-innovation-and-investment-188" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Business innovation and investment</a>: 11,198</li> </ul> <p>The passive investment subset of these visas, which provides visas to people who make a financial investment for a set period of time, is essentially a “<a href="https://johnmenadue.com/abul-rizvi-business-migration-should-focus-on-establishing-businesses-not-passive-investment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">buy a visa</a>” scheme. It should be either abolished or modified to ensure active investment.</p> <p>I resisted establishment of the passive investment component until I left the department of immigration in 2007. Long-term, removing it would cut the number of business innovation and investment visas to around 5,000 per year.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/the-folly-of-the-global-talent-independent-visa,14617" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global talent independent</a> 9,584</li> </ul> <p>This visa is highly susceptible to cronyism and corruption and attracts few migrants who wouldn’t otherwise qualify for other more robust visa categories. It should either be abolished or pared back to a few hundred per year for highly exceptional candidates.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/immigration-update-australian-states-open-skilled-visa-nomination-programs-for-2021-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State and government sponsored and regional</a> 27,853</li> </ul> <p>While the labour market is strong, there would be merit in increasing the allocation of places for these visas, as state governments are well placed to understand the needs of their jurisdictions. But it is unlikely they would be able to fill more than an additional 10,000 places per year, given the occupational targeting and employment criteria they have in place.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/skilled-independent-189" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Skilled independent</a> 7,213</li> </ul> <p>Once again, while the labour market is strong, there is scope to increase the size of this category, but there are also risks that would need to be managed.</p> <p>As these migrants have no confirmed job and face a four year wait for access to social security, diluting criteria for this visa to increase the numbers would mean a rising portion would struggle to secure a skilled job.</p> <p>Those with options may leave to another country where job prospects are stronger. Others would be forced to take whatever job they can, including at exploitative wages.</p> <p>In my experience, increasing the size of this visa category to more than around 25,000 would involve substantial risks, especially if the labour market weakens once current stimulus measures are removed.</p> <h2>190,000 won’t be easy to deliver</h2> <p>In total, what I foresee gives us a skill stream of around 100,000. Together with a family stream of 60,000, that provides only enough to fill the existing program of 160,000 per year – not enough to increase it to the 190,000 proposed by Treasury or the 220,000 proposed by the <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/migration-boost-critical-to-recovery-business-council-20220217-p59xfc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Business Council of Australia</a>.</p> <p>Those proposing much higher levels of immigration need to demonstrate how they would be delivered and how the risks of what might be a weaker labour market would be managed.</p> <p>And they need to acknowledge that the size of the migration program doesn’t determine net migration. That’s in large measure determined by the economy and how many Australians and migrants decide to leave, decide to stay overseas, or decide to return.</p> <p>This article originally appeared on The Conversation.</p>

Travel Trouble

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COVID travel restrictions have created new borders for migrants who want to visit home

<p>In the early days of the pandemic, many countries closed their borders to stop the spread of COVID-19. International travel has continued to be limited with <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-52544307">changing caveats</a>, including “essential” travel only, restrictions on travellers from particular countries and vaccination “passports”.</p> <p>While a necessary public health measure, these restrictions have been especially disruptive to migrant families. For these families, travel is a necessary part of fulfilling <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15350770.2020.1787035">familial obligations</a> and maintaining a sense of “<a href="https://www.lexico.com/definition/familyhood">familyhood</a>” and belonging across borders.</p> <p>These policies present a new layer of “everyday bordering” for transnational families. The term “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038038517702599">everyday bordering</a>” describes how policy and media narratives around migration affect migrants’ everyday lives and define who “belongs” in a nation state. In the UK, these borders amplify the state’s “<a href="https://www.jcwi.org.uk/the-hostile-environment-explained">hostile environment</a>”, the Home Office’s immigration policy, aimed at making it as difficult as possible to stay in the UK without adequate documentation.</p> <p>For migrants, their country of origin represents <a href="https://www.movingpeoplechangingplaces.org/locations/home-and-away.html">home</a> and family. Visiting home is important to many people’s wellbeing and allows migrants to be part of <a href="https://www.expatica.com/living/family/family-rituals-442783/">family traditions</a> and religious and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-09/how-china-s-big-annual-migration-differs-this-year-quicktake">cultural festivals</a>. Travel may also be necessary to fulfil caring obligations for ageing, sick or young relatives.</p> <p>Pandemic aside, the ability to visit home and family has always been constrained by a number of factors, including migration status and travel costs. The impact of these everyday borders on some migrants’ lives has been <a href="https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Addressing-the-pain-of-separation-for-refugee-families.pdf">well-documented</a>.</p> <p>The introduction of COVID-19 travel restrictions has inhibited and added costly and complex border checks into the everyday lives of migrants. This is at a time when the need to maintain transnational family caring practices is particularly important.</p> <h2>Everyday borders</h2> <p>Our fieldwork for the study <a href="https://everydaybordering-familiesandsocialcare.group.shef.ac.uk/">“Everyday Bordering in the UK”</a> aims to understand how immigration legislation – including COVID-19 travel restrictions – has impacted social care practitioners and the migrant families they support.</p> <p>Through interviews, diary entries and ethnographic observations, we explored how families from diverse migratory backgrounds experience everyday bordering. While transnational family practices were not our primary focus, our work has revealed the impact of COVID-19 travel restrictions on transnational family life. This was also supported by our researcher’s own travel experiences when visiting family in Italy.</p> <p>Our research participants consistently discussed and wrote about their family members who do not live in the UK and expressed feeling responsible for their care. This demonstrates how important it is for family members to be able to travel in order to provide care.</p> <p>Some expressed remorse at being unable to travel historically, due to restrictive visa conditions or prohibitive flight costs. Interviews and ethnographic observations from online English language classes also reveal the impact of COVID-19 travel restrictions on fulfilling care practices.</p> <p>One couple from Poland –- whom we call Krystyna and Henryk –- now living in the UK, describe the disruption caused by such restrictions. In March 2020, Krystyna was visiting Poland to help her parents with her ageing grandparents, when travel was first inhibited. She was unable to return to her partner in the UK due to flight cancellations.</p> <p>During this time, Henryk described being “depressed” and alone, saying, "My family isn’t here because they are in Poland, so I spent a few days in bed […] it was a very bad experience in my life."</p> <p>While commercial flights were not available at that time, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-52098067">chartered flights</a> returned many citizens back to their home countries from work or holiday. But these flights did not take into account those in Krystyna’s position – as a Polish citizen – and their transnational caring responsibilities, which are now divided between two countries.</p> <h2>Essential travel</h2> <p>Now that many countries have reopened their borders for travel, governments and airlines have implemented a series of measures and checks to contain the virus. Examples include <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/coronavirus-response/safe-covid-19-vaccines-europeans/eu-digital-covid-certificate_en">the EU green pass</a>, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/provide-journey-contact-details-before-travel-uk">the UK’s passenger locator form</a>, evidence of testing negative for COVID-19 and compulsory quarantine in hotels.</p> <p>These can be costly and hard to access, as our researcher noted in her own experience, "After not seeing my family for over one year, including my mum with a severe disability, we decided to fly to Italy. For the trip, we needed four tests, costing … £160 per person. Italy required a 48-hour test, and not a postal test. For a person living in London there were more, cheaper options but not for people in rural areas. In Italy, we also had to isolate for five days and get a further green pass to access public spaces."</p> <p>For two participants in the English language class, despite wanting to visit their mothers in Turkey and India, these measures were so costly and “complicated” that they said they “didn’t bother to ask for permission”. They realised it would be too difficult to travel, and they cancelled their plans to visit their families.</p> <p>The global emergency of COVID-19 has presented many challenges for governments, and has emphasised the differing needs of populations, including those who are marginalised.</p> <p>Since the initial peak of the crisis in early 2020, many countries, the UK included, permitted carers to move between different households to provide care. While international travel restrictions are an important feature of public health responses, in the context of this health crises, migrant families’ need to travel should also be recognised.</p> <p>Health-related boarding requirements should, we believe, be removed in a timely manner, but governments can do more to support migrant families in the short term. If we consider differing regulations between countries, the current system is too complex, costly and contradictory. There is a need for international agreements to standardise the documentation required to travel and make processes more streamlined and accessible.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This image originally appeared in <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/covid-travel-restrictions-have-created-new-borders-for-migrants-who-want-to-visit-home-171461" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>

Travel Tips

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“Yelling for help”: Passengers reveal heroic actions of P&O cruise ship as they spend 10 hours rescuing migrants

<p>British passengers on board a P&amp;O cruise liner have explained how the ship helped to rescue more than 20 migrants who were on an inflatable dinghy off the Spanish coast.</p> <p>Around 3,000 passengers were enjoying the stunning views of the Mediterranean as the ship sailed from Cadiz to Barcelona when they heard whistling, yelling and shouts for help coming from the water.</p> <p>Passengers rushed to the ship’s balcony where they spotted an overcrowded dinghy, which was struggling to stay afloat.</p> <p>The cruise ship quickly came to a halt as they spent an hour trying to find the inflatable raft.</p> <p>A lifeboat was then sent to pick up the passengers, most of whom were men in their late teens. This heroic action took ten hours, as the cruise liner had to turn around to rescue those in the dinghy.</p> <p>One passenger, who did not want to give her name, said to<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7503963/British-passengers-P-O-cruise-tell-giant-ship-rescued-20-migrants-Spanish-coast.html" target="_blank">The Daily Mail</a></em>: “Once the migrants were on board we had to go back on ourselves to Almeria, which took up a lot of time.</p> <p>“The attitude of the passengers was quite mixed. Many were angry that we had been delayed and had to rescue these migrants. It was actually quite shocking what some people were saying.”</p> <p>The passenger added: “It's not what you expect to happen on a Mediterranean cruise, but these people were just floating in the middle of the sea and were clearly in distress. We couldn't just leave them.”</p> <p>Dorothy Hallet, 73, told<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7503963/British-passengers-P-O-cruise-tell-giant-ship-rescued-20-migrants-Spanish-coast.html" target="_blank">MailOnline</a></em>: 'It was certainly quite an interesting experience.</p> <p>“On rushing towards the balcony, it was clear to see that in the water was an inflatable and overloaded dinghy.</p> <p>“The officers on the bridge were aware of the situation but it takes some considerable time to stop a large ship and then circle it around to find the small craft again.</p> <p>“The captain did an excellent job of manoeuvring the vessel.”</p> <p>After the migrants were brought on board the ship, an endeavour that took two hours, they were searched by the ship’s security staff.</p> <p>The captain then apologised for the delay, explaining that it was caused by “migrants in distress”.</p> <p>Once the passengers reached Almeria, the migrants were taken off the ship by the Spanish coastguard and were handed over to local police.</p> <p>Passengers also revealed that upon leaving the Azura, the migrants thanked them and the ship's officials for helping to save their lives.</p> <p>Mrs Hallet, from Hampshire, who was on the cruise with her husband, added: “It's been a great humanitarian operation by P&amp;O and they should be applauded for that. What happens next to those people will be down to the authorities.</p> <p>“No matter what people think regarding those who make the often foolhardy and hazardous journeys from North Africa towards the countries of southern Europe, when faced with the possibility of rescuing drowning people we are bound by the instincts of humanity to save them.'”</p>

Cruising

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The slow death of the milk bar in Australia

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The milk bar, convenience store or local deli used to be a staple for suburbs around Australia, but they are dying a slow death.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For decades, families would flock to get lollies, ice-cream, fresh milk or bread or to pick up the daily newspaper.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These days are all over. This is thanks to supermarkets, petrol stations and on-demand smartphones that have suffocated the market.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The milk bar really hasn’t just shut up shop overnight, it’s been happening for at least 40 years, but now it’s pretty rapid,” said Eamon Donnelly, the author of a coffee table book documenting Australian milk bars to </span><a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/consumer/2019/07/21/death-of-the-milk-bar/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The New Daily</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’ll see real estate listings for old milk bars on a weekly basis now. They just can’t sustain the business – the rents are huge and if you don’t have that traffic and customer base then it’s really difficult to see it surviving.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many old milk bars have been converted into homes or cafes, and Mr Donnelly said that for millions of Australians, a trip to the corner store was a part of growing up.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Milk bars were a treasure trove or an Aladdin’s cave of lollies, sweets and ice creams and colour – that’s the thing everyone remembers,” he recalled.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It was that first taste of independence. It was the first place many people bought something of their own. It’s such a vivid Australian memory, going up to the milk bar on a Saturday with your friends and getting a couple of ice-creams and just hanging out for hours and hours, before social media and before phones.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The first milk bar was set up in Martin Place, Sydney back in 1932. It was a very glamorous experience, according to Mr Donnelly.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Instead of selling sodas he’d sell milkshakes and hence why he called the business a milk bar – they’d sell milkshakes and you’re served on a bar,” Mr Donnelly said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It was very Hollywood style. It was really glamorous.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Then all of these little corner stores in the suburbs thought, ‘We’ll sell milkshakes as well and we’ll put “milk bar” on the business’.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Seventy years later, milk bar is just part of the vernacular now – we still call that little shop a milk bar even though you can’t get a milkshake anywhere.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“A lot of people think that the milk bar was named after the place where you just go and get your milk.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mr Donnelly has said that milk bars have always had strong ties to immigrant communities.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It was a way to get that migrant food culture into Australia,” he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Before milk bars, the Greeks used to buy olive oil from the chemist – it was medicinal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“They offer money transfers now, dry cleaning – a lot of the signage is being updated to other languages.”</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/0ge-pEMTjj/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/0ge-pEMTjj/" target="_blank">A post shared by @cup_or_cone</a> on Mar 21, 2015 at 4:05pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, oil and gas giants have funds that the lowly milk bar just don’t have.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We’ve seen the large oil companies take the lead in terms of reinventing convenience,” said Jeff Rogut, CEO of the Australasian Association of Convenience Stores.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“They’ve continued to reinvent the model, continued to upgrade stores and, importantly, upgrade facilities and the products offered inside stores.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We’ve seen a demise nationally of the true community corner store,” he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Many kept doing all the things they’ve been doing all the years, with stores that had not been upgraded, front windows plastered with phone card posters, dusty-styled dingy-type outlets, not opening extended hours.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“They really had to become smarter. They had to become more professional retailers – they couldn’t really rely on the old [method of] standing behind the counter and hoping people would cross their doorstop.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s about continually innovating and changing the business – should I be selling coffee, offering fresh pastries, freshly baked bread, things like that, that will actually get people to the store.”</span></p>

Money & Banking

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How wage exploitation has become the default experience for migrant workers

<p>Australia’s Fairwork Commission <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/2019-media-releases">has so far this year</a> examined more than a dozen cases of wage theft. Those cases involve hundred of workers and millions of dollars in underpayments.</p> <p>And it’s just the tip of the iceberg.</p> <p>A significant report on the<span> </span><a href="https://docs.jobs.gov.au/documents/report-migrant-workers-taskforce">exploitation of migrant workers</a><span> </span>in Australia has been published this month. After a two-year inquiry by the federal<span> </span><a href="https://docs.jobs.gov.au/documents/report-migrant-workers-taskforce">Migrant Workers’ Taskforce</a>, the report concludes that wage theft is widespread. Possibly as many as half of all temporary migrant workers are being underpaid.</p> <p>The federal government has agreed<span> </span><a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/employers-could-face-jail-for-wage-theft">“in principle”</a><span> </span>to act on all of the report’s 22 recommendations. Attracting most media coverage is the recommendation to introduce criminal penalties for deliberate and systemic exploitation.<span> </span><a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/industrial-relations/bosses-urge-coalition-to-ditch-support-for-criminalising-wage-theft/news-story/ba910e603b95222efd0471dcf7462211">Employer groups oppose</a><span> </span>this.</p> <p>But this debate should not distract us from other important principles that need action.</p> <p><strong>Equality before the law</strong></p> <p>Of foremost importance is the principle of equality. The federal government’s response to the report rightly declares that all workers, no matter their background, should be able to work<span> </span><a href="https://docs.jobs.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/government_response_to_the_migrant_workers_taskforce_report.pdf">without fear of exploitation</a>.</p> <p>Here the report contains two crucial recommendations.</p> <p>The first is to amend the Fair Work Act so it expressly states it covers migrant workers. The second is to extend coverage of the federal<span> </span><a href="https://www.jobs.gov.au/fair-entitlements-guarantee-feg">Fair Entitlements Guarantee</a><span> </span>program, which covers the cost of entitlements left unpaid when a worker is left high and dry by an employer going into liquidation or bankruptcy.</p> <p>The report also stresses the need for migrant workers to be adequately informed of their workplace rights. It proposes a “whole of government” approach to inform and educate workers.</p> <p><strong>Social licence</strong></p> <p>Another critical principle of the report is that of redress.</p> <p>It recommends that the effectiveness of the small claims process under the Fair Work Act be reviewed.</p> <p>It also recommends increasing penalties under the Fair Work Act. These include giving courts the power to impose an adverse publicity order, requiring an offending business to notify the public it has cheated workers; and for the most serious cases of exploitation, of course, it has suggested criminal sanctions.</p> <p>For four high-risk industries – horticulture, meat processing; cleaning and security – the report recommends a National Labour Hire Registration Scheme. Companies failing to comply with workplace laws would face potential deregistration.</p> <p>It also asks the government to explore ways by which employers found to have underpaid workers can be banned from employing anyone for a specific period.</p> <p>These last two proposals speak to a deep moral truth. The ability to operate a business is a social licence. Those who systematically disregard the rights of workers forfeit their right to this licence.</p> <p>While noting the important work undertaken by the Fair Work Ombudsman, the report queries whether the office’s funding, functions and power are equal to addressing the problem of wage theft. It recommends a public capability review to ensure the regulator is “fit for purpose”.</p> <p><strong>Wider responsibilities</strong></p> <p>There should be little doubt that systemic industry practices (particularly in the agriculture and hospitality sectors) and business structures (such as franchises and labour-hire companies) are contributing to the problem.</p> <p>Equally clear too is that the big end of town bears culpability. The roll-call of companies implicated in breaches include Caltex, Domino’s Pizza, Woolworths and Pizza Hut. Restaurants owned by celebrity chefs<span> </span><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/chefs-complain-about-30-000-underpayment-at-heston-blumenthal-s-restaurant-20181218-p50n0b.html">Heston Blumenthal</a><span> </span>and<span> </span><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-13/george-calombaris-hellenic-republic-restaurant-pay-claims/9987356">George Calombaris</a><span> </span>have been found underpaying employees.</p> <p>The report makes clear it is not just employers and the Fair Work Ombudsman that must ensure compliance with workplace laws. Other institutional actors are also responsible.</p> <p>It recommends, for instance, businesses that outsource workers be deemed accessories to any crime of wage theft committed by labour-hire companies.</p> <p>Significantly, it also draws attention to the responsibility of the higher education sector, given the sector profits from about<span> </span><a href="https://www.studiesinaustralia.com/studying-in-australia/why-study-in-australia/international-students-in-australia">800,000</a><span> </span>fee-paying international students in Australia. Many of these students take part-time jobs, and they are particularly vulnerable to being exploited. The report recommends education providers be obliged to provide information to them, and to assist them when they experience workplace issues.</p> <p><strong>A powerful blueprint</strong></p> <p>The report is clearly not meant to be the final word on dealing with wage theft. Its first recommendation is that the federal government establish a “whole of government mechanism” to continue the taskforce’s work.</p> <p>For this work to be meaningful, another principle of the report must be acted upon: the need for systematic data collection and analysis. Without this we risk being blind to what is happening right before us. Consider, for example, the growing use of migrant labour as domestic workers badged as “au pairs”.</p> <p>The report is certainly not without limitations. It could have gone much further on immigration law reform, given the pernicious role certain visa conditions have in encouraging exploitation. It fails to specifically discuss the crucial role of trade unions in protecting workers.</p> <p>It is nonetheless a powerful blueprint to address the rampant problem of wage theft, which undermines the integrity and cohesion of our labour markets. It is incumbent upon all those in power to act on it.</p> <p><em>Written by Joo-Cheong Tham. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/weve-let-wage-exploitation-become-the-default-experience-of-migrant-workers-113644">The Conversation.</a></em></p>

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Volunteers are helping to change lives of refugees and migrants in NZ

<p>Although Sandy Fraser migrated to New Zealand from South Africa almost 23 years ago, she still remembers the challenges in settling into a new home.</p> <p>“I have an understanding of the difficulties that we encountered when we moved here, bearing in mind it was much much easier for us because we've grown up with the same sort of social background,” she recalls.</p> <p>With that memory in the back of her mind, Sandy could only imagine the types of difficulties and challenges faced by refugees and new migrants arriving in New Zealand who have very little English experience.</p> <p>She’d heard from close friends about their rewarding experiences teaching English and with some extra time on her hands and a strong desire to give back to her country, Sandy looked at volunteering at <a href="http://www.englishlanguage.org.nz/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>English Language Partners</strong></span></a>, New Zealand’s largest organisation working with refugees and migrants.</p> <p>“I wanted to do something for people who've had it much tougher than my family did when we came to New Zealand,” Sandy tells Over60.</p> <p>English Language Partners’ mission is to help refugees and migrants learn English so they can pursue their aspirations and participate in all aspects of life in Aotearoa New Zealand struck a chord with Sandy.</p> <p>Sandy was paired up with Sahriani, an Indonesian woman with two young boys, for home lessons over 12 weeks (lesson they’ve already renewed for another three months).</p> <p>Sahriani shows off her new English skills, telling Over60, “I like study English but we need learn more, because my English no good.”</p> <p>But Sandy, who has affectionately nicknamed Sahriani “Ani”, quickly interjects, praising Ani’s eagerness to learn English and her steady improvements over the last three months.</p> <p>“Ani is very enthusiastic and very diligent. She does a lot of stuff on her own. I spend just over an hour with her on a weekly basis but she's very keen and does a lot on her own,” she says, adding, “I just hope she makes the sort of progress with me that she's expecting to make!”</p> <p>Asked about how she feels about improving her English, Ani replies, shyly but eagerly, “I feel good, I like it, I really like it. I think every week I get more confident.”</p> <p>After her lessons with Sandy, Ani does a lot of English-practising on her own, even getting as involved as she can in her seven-year-old son’s school reading.</p> <p>“Sometimes he [my son] helps me,” she chimes in.</p> <p>For Sandy, volunteering has been a wonderful and incredibly rewarding experience.</p> <p>“For me personally, I think it's easy for English-speaking people to settle in the country, because they don't sound any different – well accent excluded. You fit into the local scheme of things quite easily.</p> <p>For anybody who had no English, the society feels different, it's hard,” she says.</p> <p>“If I can make the slightest bit of different to helping Annie and her family feel settled in New Zealand, that's all I can really ask for. Because it's a brilliant country I am incredibly privileged to be living here and I want Ani to feel the same way.”</p> <p>Sandy not only relishes helping eager learners like Ani, but loves the chance to form friendships with our newest New Zealanders.</p> <p>“I find that I think about Ani a lot and I enjoy being with her and she has the most gorgeous little boy. He's a cutie pie. I just hope she's getting as much out of it as I am,” Sandy reveals.</p> <p>If you’re looking for a similar chance to change people’s lives, Sandy cannot speak highly enough of English Language Partners help and support.</p> <p>“English Language Partners are very thorough in their training and there's a lot of help and support from the office. If I have any doubts about what I am doing, they are always there and incredibly helpful,” says Sandy. “I am very pleased that there is that level of training and support.”</p> <p><em><strong>If you are interested in volunteering or finding more information about English Language Partners, visit their website; <a href="http://www.englishlanguage.org.nz/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">www.englishlanguage.org.nz</span></a>. </strong></em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/retirement-life/2017/01/volunteering-on-a-floating-hospital-in-africa/"><em>Volunteering on a floating hospital in Africa</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/retirement-life/2016/12/pat-simmons-three-goals-for-retirement/"><em>My three goals for retirement</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/retirement-life/2016/12/daily-habit-can-add-years-to-your-life/"><em>The daily habit that can add years to your life</em></a></strong></span></p>

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