tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/pacific-islanders-71091/articlesPacific Islanders – The Conversation2023-01-19T19:13:11Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1979102023-01-19T19:13:11Z2023-01-19T19:13:11ZReaping what we sow: cultural ignorance undermines Australia’s recruitment of Pacific Island workers<p>Alice and Scott* have been running their two-storey pub-turned-backpacker hostel in Queensland’s Wide Bay region, north of Brisbane, for more a decade. Over the years they’ve provided accommodation for thousands of backpackers and itinerant workers who come to the region for fruit-picking jobs.</p>
<p>Before the pandemic, the hostel bustled with backpackers – “mostly from Europe, some Asian backpackers” too, Alice explains. Now they cater exclusively for Pacific Islanders on temporary visas.</p>
<p>We’re sitting in the hostel’s backyard watching a group of men still in their high-vis work gear, barbecuing their dinner. They’re from Vanuatu, Scott says. They’ve been at the hostel for many months. The yard is enclosed by a high wooden fence now. “We had to put that up to stop people looking in, abusing our workers,” Alice says. “People still think these foreigners are taking Aussie jobs.” </p>
<p>They’re not. Australia has had a huge shortage of farm workers since borders were closed in March 2020 and backpacker numbers dried up. Backpacker numbers have not rebounded since the border reopened. In 2019, <a href="https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/visa-working-holiday-maker/resource/1838d35d-8523-45e4-945a-11c584f3324b">more than 140,000</a> young people on the Working Holiday Maker visa flocked to Australia. In 2022, less than half that number had arrived. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-borders-are-open-so-where-are-all-the-backpackers-192614">Australia's borders are open, so where are all the backpackers?</a>
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<p>In response, the federal government has been offering more and more work visas under the <a href="https://www.palmscheme.gov.au/">Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme</a> (PALM), a federal government program that allows farmers (and other eligible employers – in July 2022 the federal government expanded the scheme to the services sector) to recruit workers from nine Pacific Island nations as well as Timor Leste.</p>
<p>In 2019, under the PALM scheme’s predecessor policies, there were <a href="https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/temporary-entrants-visa-holders">6,753 temporary migrants</a> from Pacific Island nations in Australia. By the end of 2022 it was almost <a href="https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/temporary-entrants-visa-holders">24,000</a>. By the end of this is year it is expected to be <a href="https://minister.agriculture.gov.au/watt/speeches-and-transcripts/interview-kieran-gilbert-sky-news-0">40,000</a>. </p>
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<p>But the switch from dependence on backpackers to Pacific Islanders has been bumpy. </p>
<h2>Cultural differences fuel misunderstandings</h2>
<p>For a <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0026/1686104/Turbulent-Times_The-state-of-backpacking-and-seasonal-farm-work__2023-report.pdf">new report</a> published by Griffith University on the state of seasonal farm work in Australia, I interviewed more than 40 stakeholders in business, government and the community sectors about the challenges of farms shifting from backpackers to Pacific Island workers. </p>
<p>It’s a familiar story of the problems that arise with the arrival of a new group of migrants into a community. </p>
<p>Assumptions about “cultural differences” fuel misunderstandings in regional communities. Several pubs in farming towns have imposed blanket bans on Pacific Islanders (on the grounds of excessive drinking and unruly behaviour), whereas backpackers and other workers are still allowed. </p>
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<p>Shifting cohorts of migrant workers also change the role of accommodation providers like Alice and Scott. Backpackers would stay for no more than a few months, and could move on when they liked, being free to chose who they worked for. PALM workers can stay for up to nine months on “seasonal” visas and up to four years on long-term visas, and they are bound to their sponsoring employer. This means they need long-term accommodation. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-pacific-australia-labour-mobility-scheme-offers-more-flexibility-for-employers-172385">New Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme offers more flexibility ... for employers</a>
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<p>With this change, hostels like Alice and Scott’s are also providing more than just housing. They often facilitate the daily transport, supermarket runs, airport pick-ups, as well as providing social activities, general care, and what Alice called “lending an ear”. </p>
<p>“When they first arrive we have to show them everything,” Alice said. “Settle them in, show them how things are done here in Australia. It’s totally different to where they’re from.”</p>
<p>Another hostel manager told me: “We take them to church – there’s three different churches we drop them to at the weekend. Then they go to the local rugby team.” </p>
<h2>Informal responses</h2>
<p>These informal support services filling a void in formal services. </p>
<p>The PALM scheme does require sponsoring employers to provide “<a href="https://www.palmscheme.gov.au/worker-support">cultural support</a>” – vaguely defined as cultural, social and religious activities – but there are no formal provisions to ensure those employing Pacific Islanders understand the type of cultural support their workers need. </p>
<p>My research indicates those signing up to the scheme are unsure about their obligations and are fumbling through the process.</p>
<p>“There’s no induction, you just get a bunch of Islanders arrive at your doorstep, fresh off the plane,” one hostel operator said. “I had no idea what church they go to, or even how I should refer to them. Can I say ‘Islander’? Is that appropriate?” </p>
<p>With Pacific Islanders becoming an increasingly crucial component of Australia’s rural workforce, building cultural awareness shouldn’t be an afterthought. My report argues that making cultural education part of the PALM scheme can help mitigate tensions and misunderstandings. </p>
<p>Training, awareness and information should be implemented by Pacific people here in regional communities. They know their cultural and social responsibilities, and can ease local Australian businesses and newly arrived Pacific Island workers into meaningful, long-term relationships. As one support service representative said:</p>
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<p>Leadership must come from Pacific people themselves, not Australians. </p>
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<p>If we are serious about nurturing our “<a href="https://devpolicy.org/pacific-family-what-does-it-really-mean-20220615/">Pacific Family</a>” we can’t expect local businesses to erect high walls around their backyards, sealing off these workers from divided communities. </p>
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<p><em>* Names have been changed.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197910/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Kaya Barry works for Griffith University. She is the recipient of an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Award (project number DE220100394) funded by the Australian Government.</span></em></p>Australia is rapidly expanding visa programs for Pacific Islanders to fill labour shortages. More needs to be done to overcome cultural tensions in local communities.Kaya Barry, Senior Lecturer & ARC DECRA Research Fellow, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1951002023-01-09T19:08:21Z2023-01-09T19:08:21ZWhy Pacific Islanders are staying put even as rising seas flood their homes and crops<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498419/original/file-20221201-12-72dv5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C186%2C4160%2C2771&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Merawalesi Yee</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Climate change is forcing people around the world to abandon their homes. In the Pacific Islands, rising sea levels are leaving communities facing tough decisions about relocation. Some are choosing to stay in high-risk areas.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fclim.2022.1034765/full">Our research</a> investigated this phenomenon, known as “voluntary immobility”.</p>
<p>The government of Fiji has identified around <a href="https://www.adaptationcommunity.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Overview-Fijis-Response-to-HMCCC-2019.pdf">800 communities</a> that may have to relocate due to climate change impacts (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/08/how-to-move-a-country-fiji-radical-plan-escape-rising-seas-climate-crisis">six</a> have already been moved). One of these is the village on Serua Island, which was the focus of our study. </p>
<p>Coastal erosion and flooding have severely damaged the village over the past two decades. Homes have been submerged, seawater has spoiled food crops and the seawall has been destroyed. Despite this, almost all of Serua Island’s residents are choosing to stay.</p>
<p>We found their decision is based on “Vanua”, an Indigenous Fijian word that refers to the interconnectedness of the natural environment, social bonds, ways of being, spirituality and stewardship of place. Vanua binds local communities to their land.</p>
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<img alt="Waves submerge a house" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498821/original/file-20221204-55824-yy2py5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498821/original/file-20221204-55824-yy2py5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498821/original/file-20221204-55824-yy2py5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498821/original/file-20221204-55824-yy2py5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498821/original/file-20221204-55824-yy2py5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498821/original/file-20221204-55824-yy2py5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498821/original/file-20221204-55824-yy2py5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A house on Serua Island is submerged by seawater.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Serua Island resident</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-forced-these-fijian-communities-to-move-and-with-80-more-at-risk-heres-what-they-learned-116178">Climate change forced these Fijian communities to move – and with 80 more at risk, here's what they learned</a>
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<h2>Residents feel an obligation to stay</h2>
<p>Serua Island has historical importance. It is the traditional residence of the paramount chief of Serua province. </p>
<p>The island’s residents choose to remain because of their deep-rooted connections, to act as guardians and to meet their customary obligations to sustain a place of profound cultural importance. As one resident explained:</p>
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<p>“Our forefathers chose to live and remain on the island just so they could be close to our chief.”</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498410/original/file-20221201-20-30j1mx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498410/original/file-20221201-20-30j1mx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498410/original/file-20221201-20-30j1mx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498410/original/file-20221201-20-30j1mx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=280&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498410/original/file-20221201-20-30j1mx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498410/original/file-20221201-20-30j1mx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498410/original/file-20221201-20-30j1mx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Sau Tabu is the burial site of the paramount chiefs of Serua.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Merewalesi Yee</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>The link to ancestors is a vital part of life on Serua Island. Every family has a foundation stone upon which their ancestors built their house. One resident told us:</p>
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<p>“In the past, when a foundation of a home is created, they name it, and that is where our ancestors were buried as well. Their bones, sweat, tears, hard work [are] all buried in the foundation.”</p>
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<p>Many believe the disturbance of the foundation stone will bring misfortune to their relatives or to other members of their village.</p>
<p>The ocean that separates Serua Island from Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu, is also part of the identity of men and women of Serua. One man said: </p>
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<p>“When you have walked to the island, that means you have finally stepped foot on Serua. Visitors to the island may find this a challenging way to get there. However, for us, travelling this body of water daily is the essence of a being Serua Islander.” </p>
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<p>The ocean is a source of food and income, and a place of belonging. One woman said:</p>
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<p>“The ocean is part of me and sustains me – we gauge when to go and when to return according to the tide.”</p>
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<span class="caption">The sea crossing that separates Serua Island from Viti Levu is part of the islanders’ identity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Merewalesi Yee</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Serua Islanders are concerned that relocating to Viti Levu would disrupt the bond they have with their chief, sacred sites and the ocean. They fear relocation would lead to loss of their identity, cultural practices and place attachment. As one villager said:</p>
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<p>“It may be difficult for an outsider to understand this process because it entails much more than simply giving up material possessions.”</p>
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<p>If residents had to relocate due to climate change, it would be a last resort. Residents are keenly aware it would mean disrupting – or losing – not just material assets such as foundation stones, but sacred sites, a way of life and Indigenous knowledge. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/an-entire-pacific-country-will-upload-itself-to-the-metaverse-its-a-desperate-plan-with-a-hidden-message-194728">An entire Pacific country will upload itself to the metaverse. It's a desperate plan – with a hidden message</a>
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<h2>Voluntary immobility is a global phenomenon</h2>
<p>As climate tipping points are reached and harms escalate, humans must adapt. Yet even in places where relocation is proposed as a last resort, people may prefer to remain. </p>
<p>Voluntary immobility is not unique to Fiji. Around the world, households and communities are choosing to stay where climate risks are increasing or already high. Reasons include access to livelihoods, place-based connections, social bonds and differing risk perceptions.</p>
<p>As Australia faces climate-related hazards and disasters, such as floods and bushfires, people living in places of risk will need to consider whether to remain or move. This decision raises complex legal, financial and logistical issues. As with residents of Serua Island, it also raises important questions about the value that people ascribe to their connections to place.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Serua Island is one of about 800 communities in Fiji being forced to consider the prospect of relocation.</span></figcaption>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coastal-property-prices-and-climate-risks-are-both-soaring-we-must-pull-our-heads-out-of-the-sand-195357">Coastal property prices and climate risks are both soaring. We must pull our heads out of the sand</a>
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<h2>A decision for communities to make themselves</h2>
<p>Relocation and retreat are not a panacea for climate risk in vulnerable locations. In many cases, people prefer to adapt in place and protect at-risk areas.</p>
<p>No climate adaptation policy should be decided without the full and direct participation of the affected local people and communities. Relocation programs should be culturally appropriate and align with local needs, and proceed only with the consent of residents. </p>
<p>In places where residents are unwilling to relocate, it is crucial to acknowledge and, where feasible, support their decision to stay. And people require relevant information on the risks and potential consequences of both staying and relocating.</p>
<p>This can help develop more appropriate adaptation strategies for communities in Fiji and beyond as people move home, but also resist relocation, in a warming world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195100/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Celia McMichael receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen E McNamara receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Australian Government, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Vanuatu Government. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Annah Piggott-McKellar and Merewalesi Yee do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Residents are living with the impacts of climate change and know it’s happening. But leaving their homes would strike at the heart of their identity.Merewalesi Yee, PhD Candidate, School of Earth and Environment Sciences, The University of QueenslandAnnah Piggott-McKellar, Research Fellow, School of Architecture and Built Environment, Queensland University of TechnologyCelia McMichael, Senior Lecturer in Geography, The University of MelbourneKaren E McNamara, Associate Professor, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1943472022-12-26T20:51:22Z2022-12-26T20:51:22ZBlack Snow, a new pacy murder mystery, addresses the complicated legacy of slavery in Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501467/original/file-20221216-15-8fo681.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3537%2C2344&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1994, the Australian federal government finally <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/race-discrimination/publications/australian-south-sea-islanders-century-race">extended recognition</a> to Australian South Sea Islander people as a distinct cultural group. This recognition was important: racism put Australian South Sea Islanders at a disadvantage, yet there was little public recognition of the unique circumstances they and their ancestors had experienced and survived.</p>
<p>The same year opens Black Snow, a six-part drama on Stan. Isabel “Izzy” Baker (Talijah Blackman-Corowa) is murdered on the way home from her school formal. Local cops decide the murderer was likely a seasonal worker passing through town, and drop the case. </p>
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<p>But when a time capsule created by the school leavers is opened 25 years later, a letter from Isabel provides new leads.</p>
<p>The action unfolds in the shadow of a bronze statue of sugar planter James Ashford – a stand-in for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Towns">Robert Towns</a> for whom Townsville is named. </p>
<p>Isabel’s death, the botched investigation and cover-up reflect that 1994 was only the beginning of a much-needed reckoning with the history of forced labour in Australia.</p>
<h2>An Australian history of slavery</h2>
<p>Isabel’s letter brings detective James Cormack (Travis Fimmel) to town. He’s a cold-case specialist from the city with baggage of his own. Cormack butts heads with the local senior sergeant who would rather the skeletons of the past stay firmly in the closet.</p>
<p>But Cormack befriends the town’s rookie cop, Dale Quinn (Gulliver McGrath). Quinn conveys to the audience both police procedure, and the appalling labour practices of the 19th century and the more recent past. </p>
<p>Despite having grown up in the town, Quinn has to google James Ashford when the statue is vandalised. “I never knew we had slavery in Australia,” he says mournfully.</p>
<p>There was plenty of forced labour in Australia, not least of <a href="https://theconversation.com/was-there-slavery-in-australia-yes-it-shouldnt-even-be-up-for-debate-140544">Indigenous people</a>. Also at the heart of Australia’s history of slavery are the lives of South Sea Islanders.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501468/original/file-20221216-11-pr0ywk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Photo from 1890, a group of Islander farm workers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501468/original/file-20221216-11-pr0ywk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501468/original/file-20221216-11-pr0ywk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501468/original/file-20221216-11-pr0ywk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501468/original/file-20221216-11-pr0ywk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501468/original/file-20221216-11-pr0ywk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501468/original/file-20221216-11-pr0ywk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501468/original/file-20221216-11-pr0ywk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">62,000 South Sea Islanders were shipped to Australia to work on plantations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">State Library of Queensland</span></span>
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<p>Some 62,000 people were shipped to Australia between 1863 and 1904, mostly to Queensland, where they worked mainly in the sugar trade. </p>
<p>These workers <a href="https://www.assipj.com.au/australian-south-sea-islander-historical-chronology/">hailed from islands</a> in what are now New Caledonia, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and east of Papua New Guinea. Some were abducted, while others came after signing dubious contracts. </p>
<p>All were <a href="https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/violence-and-colonial-dialogue-the-australian-pacific-indentured-labor-trade/">treated</a> somewhere between poorly and viciously. They suffered the <a href="https://blogs.archives.qld.gov.au/2016/05/27/australian-south-sea-islanders-in-queensland/">highest death rate by far</a> of any contemporaneous immigrant group to Australia.</p>
<p>Such ignorance of this history is not for a lack of trying on the part of Australian South Sea Islander people. </p>
<p>In the nearly 30 years since government recognition, they have made a concerted effort to <a href="https://www.assipj.com.au/australian-south-sea-islander-historical-chronology/">educate</a> people in Australia and beyond about their <a href="https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/discover/exhibitions/australian-south-sea-islanders">history</a> and <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/slq/sets/72157678971001148">culture</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/was-there-slavery-in-australia-yes-it-shouldnt-even-be-up-for-debate-140544">Was there slavery in Australia? Yes. It shouldn't even be up for debate</a>
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<h2>The voice of the community</h2>
<p>The creator and initial producers, who are white, strove to make Black Snow a genuinely collaborative effort. </p>
<p>Kaylene Butler, a descendant of a trafficked man from Vanuatu, signed on as a producer. Boyd Quakawoot, of mixed Indigenous and South Sea Islander ancestry, joined the writing team. Cinematographer Murray Lui was born and raised in the Torres Strait. Marion Healy contributed her valuable expertise as a cultural and historical consultant.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501469/original/file-20221216-15-zooqye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two Islander girls play on in a teenager's bedroom." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501469/original/file-20221216-15-zooqye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501469/original/file-20221216-15-zooqye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501469/original/file-20221216-15-zooqye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501469/original/file-20221216-15-zooqye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501469/original/file-20221216-15-zooqye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501469/original/file-20221216-15-zooqye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501469/original/file-20221216-15-zooqye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There is a sense of a genuine collaborative effort behind Black Snow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The involvement of Australian South Sea Islander creatives is evident right from the title sequence, co-designed by Australian South Sea Islander visual artist Jasmine Togo-Brisby. </p>
<p>Singer-songwriter Ziggy Ramo, who also appears as the character Ezekiel, created the music with composer Jed Palmer. Their work included a recording trip to Tanna Island, Vanuatu. </p>
<p>The cast includes 14 Australian South Sea Islander actors. Considering that 12 of them are appearing on screen for the first time, the power of the acting – especially leads Talijah Blackman-Corowa (Isabel) and Jemmason Power (Hazel) – is remarkable.</p>
<p>The show portrays the central place of faith and the church in the community. And although the pastor is Isabel’s father, the community really revolves around the Australian South Sea Islander women. </p>
<p>The gentle and deep friendship between Isabel’s mother (Seini Willett) and aunt (Lisa Blackman), and the way they resolve conflicts between others, is particularly affecting.</p>
<h2>A fight for recognition</h2>
<p>The scenes in 1994 showcase the Australian South Sea Islander community, but in the present-day scenes Cormack takes centre stage. The casting of Fimmel risked a problematic “<a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/hollywoods-white-savior-obsession-colonialism">white saviour</a>” narrative, but the show carefully balances the two timelines to centre the stories of the Australian South Sea Islanders.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501470/original/file-20221216-25-smhtod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A policeman at a computer." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501470/original/file-20221216-25-smhtod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501470/original/file-20221216-25-smhtod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501470/original/file-20221216-25-smhtod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501470/original/file-20221216-25-smhtod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501470/original/file-20221216-25-smhtod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501470/original/file-20221216-25-smhtod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501470/original/file-20221216-25-smhtod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Black Snow steers away from a white saviour narrative.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stan</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>It has been a long fight for recognition in Australia. </p>
<p>Women like Faith Bandler and Patricia “Patsy” Corowa were a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/decolonisation-and-the-pacific/black-internalising-decolonisation-and-networks-of-solidarity/8F4EDE2FDAE80D0145FCEAC47B2D693A">part of</a> an intricately connected global Black Power movement. From the late 1960s, activists in Australia collaborated with Black activists in the Pacific, Caribbean, United States and elsewhere to fight for rights and power.</p>
<p>This struggle is ongoing and remains global. Isabel includes a Black Power salute in a mural she paints in her last weeks alive. In the present-day, Isabel’s niece Kalana (an excellent Eden Cassady) expresses solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. She leads a small group of teenage activists to repeatedly graffiti Ashford’s statue with red paint and the chilling figure of 62,000.</p>
<h2>Our hauntings</h2>
<p>The show has an important message about <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-better-conditions-not-shaming-for-pacific-farm-workers-171404">conditions</a> today for Pacific workers who are vital to Australia’s farming sector. </p>
<p>Current <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-pacific-australia-labour-mobility-scheme-offers-more-flexibility-for-employers-172385">labour regulation</a> prioritises employers’ <a href="https://theconversation.com/underpaid-at-home-vulnerable-abroad-how-seasonal-job-schemes-are-draining-pacific-nations-of-vital-workers-194810">profit</a> over seasonal Pacific workers’ rights. </p>
<p>This pacy murder mystery reminds us slavery and exploitation are not safely in the past. Their legacies remain, and should haunt us all.</p>
<p><em>Black Snow is streaming on Stan from January 1.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-pacific-australia-labour-mobility-scheme-offers-more-flexibility-for-employers-172385">New Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme offers more flexibility ... for employers</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194347/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clare Corbould has received funding from the Australian Research Council. She is a member of the Australian Greens. She has collaborated previously with artist Jasmine Togo-Brisby, mentioned in this article.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hilary Emmett is a member of the UK Labour Party. She has collaborated previously with artist Jasmine Togo-Brisby, mentioned in this article.</span></em></p>Black Snow, a six-part drama on Stan, puts the stories of Australian South Sea Islanders in frame.Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin UniversityHilary Emmett, Associate professor, University of East AngliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1835982022-05-23T19:58:14Z2022-05-23T19:58:14ZOn the Pacific, the new government must be bold and go big. Here’s how the repair work could begin<p>The federal election has delivered a monumental win for Australia’s relations with the Pacific. The stunning victories of the teal and Greens candidates means climate action will be at the top of the new government’s agenda.</p>
<p>In one fell swoop, the Pacific’s leading source of deep frustration with Australia is back at the centre of policy debate. The Australian government and its Pacific neighbours are now much closer to being on the same page.</p>
<p>This is a profoundly important turn of events, allowing other much-needed improvements to Australia’s regional image and outreach. </p>
<p>When it comes to the Pacific, the new government must be bold and go big. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-teals-and-greens-will-turn-up-the-heat-on-labors-climate-policy-heres-what-to-expect-183532">The teals and Greens will turn up the heat on Labor's climate policy. Here's what to expect</a>
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<h2>Swift action on climate</h2>
<p>To repair our relationship with the Pacific, the new government must make swift decisions addressing the climate emergency.</p>
<p>During the campaign, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-digs-in-on-support-for-coal-to-negate-damaging-climate-debate-20220418-p5ae8h.html">Labor</a> equivocated about its stance on coal, fearing losses in vital “coal country” seats.</p>
<p>But Australian voters have made clear that they want action on climate. </p>
<p>As a result, Labor’s governing mandate – enforced by the teal independents and the Greens – will likely involve the winding down of Australia’s coal industry.</p>
<p>This is doing right by the Pacific – and by fire and flood-ravaged Australia, too. </p>
<p>The new government must effect this change in ways that secure a strong future for coal country people. </p>
<p>Otherwise, the politics of coal that have marred Australia’s Pacific relations will undoubtedly be revived.</p>
<h2>A big repair job ahead</h2>
<p>Addressing the climate crisis should be the first order of business for the new government. But the new government has a lot of other repair work ahead of it. </p>
<p>Under the Coalition, Australia’s record of relations with the Pacific ran the gamut from positive, to checkered, to tone-deaf, to downright embarrassing. </p>
<p>Take, for example, the confounding election night <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/20/cabinet-committee-blocked-plan-to-double-australias-support-to-pacific-election-eve-leak-reveals">revelation</a> the Morrison government rejected doubling the Pacific aid budget in the wake of the Solomon Islands-China security deal. </p>
<p>Despite such decisions, the Morrison government was fond of using the sentimental slogan “our Pacific family”. It rang profoundly hollow, given it left the greatest existential crisis facing “our family” unaddressed. </p>
<h2>What has Labor promised on the Pacific?</h2>
<p>Labor is using the language of “our Pacific family” too, but has pledged to back it up with a broad-ranging <a href="https://alp.org.au/policies/labors-plan-to-build-a-stronger-pacific-family">Pacific policy</a> announced during the campaign.</p>
<p>The policy pledges include: </p>
<ul>
<li>establishing an Australia Pacific Defence School</li>
<li>boosting maritime assistance support and development assistance</li>
<li>developing climate infrastructure financing and</li>
<li>reforming the Pacific Australian Mobility Scheme (<a href="https://theconversation.com/labors-proposed-pacific-labour-scheme-reforms-might-be-good-soft-diplomacy-but-will-it-address-worker-exploitation-183119">criticised</a> in the past for failing to address exploitation). </li>
</ul>
<p>Labor also signalled it will issue 3,000 visas annually to boost permanent migration “for nationals of Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste”.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1527164813532614656"}"></div></p>
<p>While this is a step in the right direction, Labor’s migration and labour goals are too modest.</p>
<p>Its vital Australia addresses the low numbers of Pacific Islanders living in Australia. Boosting these numbers in Australia opens economic and educational opportunities of Pacific Islanders, but also directly benefits home islands through remittances.</p>
<p>The Solomon Islands High Commissioner to Canberra, despite the acute tensions between Australia and his government due to the China security deal, has underscored how vital worker access to Australian jobs is, <a href="https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/robert-sisilo-confident-proper-dialogue-and-mutual-trust-can-get-australia-and-solomon-islands-relationship-back-on-track/news-story/c6aa9351e46a58e5f847be0923149b03">saying</a>:</p>
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<p>If only the scheme can be extended to the whole of Australia and metropolitan cities like Sydney, Brisbane, Wollongong, Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide, Newcastle, Gold Coast, where the demand for plumbers, bricklayers, caregivers is huge.</p>
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<p>This fills labour market gaps. It also generates earnings and valuable skills on islands, like the Solomons, that face high rates of youth unemployment (which feeds social unrest). </p>
<p>The incoming government should take heed – there is no better way to build and secure bridges between Australia and the Pacific than by creating job opportunities for Pacific Islanders in Australia. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/labors-proposed-pacific-labour-scheme-reforms-might-be-good-soft-diplomacy-but-will-it-address-worker-exploitation-183119">Labor's proposed Pacific labour scheme reforms might be good soft diplomacy but will it address worker exploitation?</a>
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<h2>Educational opportunities</h2>
<p>The way forward for the new government must also help raise Australian literacy and understanding about the islands. </p>
<p>School children should learn about Australia’s Pacific history and Pacific cultures as a matter of course. </p>
<p>Australia’s universities must expand opportunities for Australian students to learn about the Pacific and establish on-island campuses. </p>
<p>This would facilitate circulation of people, learning and expertise between Australian and island-based campuses. </p>
<p>It would represent an excellent investment but would need government support.</p>
<h2>Reckoning with history</h2>
<p>Australia also needs to reckon with its Pacific history, focusing on colonial Papua New Guinea and the history of “<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-the-caribbean-to-queensland-re-examining-australias-blackbirding-past-and-its-roots-in-the-global-slave-trade-158530">blackbirding</a>” – where Pacific Islanders were lured or taken forcibly to work in Australia.</p>
<p>The Australian War Memorial could also do a better job of educating Australians about Australia’s military history of “pacifying” islanders.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also must follow the example of New Zealand Prime Ministers <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/full-text-helen-clarks-apology-to-samoa/65TV2LDV6S7HHIYRDCFSC5YOZI/">Helen Clark</a> and <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-offers-formal-apology-dawn-raids">Jacinda Ardern</a>. Both formally apologised for past policies and practices that caused untold harm to the Samoan people and peoples from Niue, Tokelau and the Cook Islands.</p>
<p>Albanese should issue a similar apology for the people of Papua New Guinea, the Solomons and Vanuatu. </p>
<p>Only by providing civic education and acknowledging a troubled past can more Australians appreciate the immense debt Australia owes the Pacific Islands. </p>
<p>This is a debt that has yet to be paid.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-should-the-next-australian-government-handle-the-pacific-178534">How should the next Australian government handle the Pacific?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183598/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patricia A. O'Brien received funding from the Australian Research Council as a Future Fellow, the Jay I. Kislak Fellowship at the John W. Kluge Center, Library of Congress, Washington D.C. and New Zealand's JD Stout Trust. </span></em></p>To repair our relationship with the Pacific, the new government must make swift decisions addressing the climate emergency. But that’s just the starting point.Patricia A. O'Brien, Faculty Member, Asian Studies Program, Georgetown University; Visiting Fellow, Department of Pacific Affairs, Australian National University; Adjunct Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC., Georgetown UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1831192022-05-19T03:25:29Z2022-05-19T03:25:29ZLabor’s proposed Pacific labour scheme reforms might be good soft diplomacy but will it address worker exploitation?<p>National security has been a feature of this election campaign, but there’s been <a href="https://theconversation.com/labors-pacific-plan-is-underdone-and-risks-further-politicising-foreign-policy-181934">little substantive difference</a> on key issues of foreign policy. Last week’s foreign policy debate between Foreign Minister Senator Marise Payne and Shadow Minister Penny Wong barely touched on differences in policy.</p>
<p>An exception was Labor’s <a href="https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/media-centre/labors-plan-for-a-stronger-pacific-family">proposed changes</a> to the government’s existing <a href="https://www.palmscheme.gov.au/">Pacific Australia Labour Mobility</a> scheme. This scheme provides jobs for Pacific and Timor-Leste workers in Australia. </p>
<p>Labor’s proposed policies for the Pacific are positive for Australia’s foreign policy, and include some wins for these workers. </p>
<p>But the plan so far does not make it clear how it will address rampant wage theft, exploitation and unsafe working conditions faced by Pacific workers in Australia. </p>
<p>And reforms made under the Coalition government have so far failed to fix systemic problems that have led to some Pacific Island workers being exploited.</p>
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<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-should-the-next-australian-government-handle-the-pacific-178534">How should the next Australian government handle the Pacific?</a>
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<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1518819682341449730"}"></div></p>
<h2>What has Labor proposed?</h2>
<p>The recent Solomon Islands-China security pact revealed Coalition <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/20/explainer-solomon-islands-china-security-pact-concern">weaknesses</a> in the Pacific. Labor soon proposed a <a href="https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/media-centre/labors-plan-for-a-stronger-pacific-family">suite of policies</a> it said would “restore Australia’s place as the partner of choice for the countries in the Pacific”. </p>
<p>It proposed a new “pacific engagement visa” to provide pathways to permanent migration, the first of its kind in the existing Pacific labour mobility schemes. </p>
<p>This visa would initially allow about 3,000 Pacific Islanders to migrate annually to Australia.</p>
<p>Other proposed reforms include:</p>
<ul>
<li>the travel costs of Pacific migrant workers to be paid by the federal government, instead of by employers</li>
<li>allowing Pacific migrant workers to bring their families with them</li>
<li>in a move welcomed by unions, a new dedicated agricultural visa would replace a <a href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3146669/australia-lures-asians-farm-labour-new-agriculture-visa-and-path">contentious</a> “<a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/australian-agriculture-visa-fact-sheet.pdf">Ag visa</a>” introduced last year. </li>
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<h2>Mistreatment, wage theft and exploitation</h2>
<p>The existing <a href="https://www.palmscheme.gov.au/">Pacific Australia Labour Mobility</a> scheme, which emerged from a series of reforms to older schemes, was launched in 2022. </p>
<p>It is more heavily regulated than other temporary workers visas. Still, significant concerns remain about workers on these schemes</p>
<p>Both Labor and Coalition governments have overseen various iterations of the scheme where exploitation and wage theft occurred. Since 2012, 30 workers have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/12/sixteen-deaths-in-australias-troubled-seasonal-workers-program-since-pandemic">reportedly</a> died on the Pacific Labour Scheme visa and a previous iteration, the Seasonal Worker Program.</p>
<p>Recently, the Senate Select Committee on Job Security <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-03-10/foreign-farm-workers-pocket-100-for-a-weeks-work/100898622">heard</a> <a href="https://devpolicy.org/seasonal-work-at-the-job-security-inquiry-20220401/">from</a> Pacific Islander seasonal workers who experienced wage theft and unsafe working conditions.</p>
<p>Pacific workers have experienced reduction in promised hours and pay deductions. One <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/7.30/seasonal-farm-workers-receiving-as-little-as-$9-a/7201286">investigation</a> revealed seasonal farm workers receiving as little as A$9 a week after deductions. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"702781783075467266"}"></div></p>
<p>Critics have <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-01/pacific-worker-slaves-bundaberg/100793780">likened</a> the poor conditions, underpayment and “skimming” of paychecks to modern slavery and “<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-the-caribbean-to-queensland-re-examining-australias-blackbirding-past-and-its-roots-in-the-global-slave-trade-158530">blackbirding</a>” – where Pacific Islanders were lured or taken forcibly to work in Australia.</p>
<h2>A scheme that serves too many masters</h2>
<p>The problem with the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme is it serves too many masters. </p>
<p>Leaders in Pacific Island states like it because it provides overseas sources of work for citizens. For Australia, this scheme provides a positive soft diplomacy tool in Pacific engagement.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1520937758927495168"}"></div></p>
<p>Yet, labour migration has also been shaped by the interests of Australian agricultural and horticulture sectors keen to fill a labour shortage. </p>
<p>In revisions of the Pacific labour program under the Coalition, industry interests have been prioritised ahead of workers. </p>
<p>And while Labor’s focus on increasing numbers of the overall intake through permanent residency is welcome, it raises questions about how it will ensure greater protections for workers. </p>
<p>The extent to which its plan will protect Pacific Islanders from exploitation is not clearly outlined in their policy platform. It only promises a “review” of the scheme and the provision of “whistle-blower” status to all temporary migrant workers.</p>
<h2>A policy priority</h2>
<p>Both major parties acknowledge labour mobility is important to Australia’s relationship with Pacific Island nations.</p>
<p>As we have seen during the election campaign, constructive and genuine engagement with the Pacific region is critical to Australia’s national interests. </p>
<p>But addressing serious concerns about exploitation in existing schemes is crucial.</p>
<p>There is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5aLZl-wCaA">debate</a> about whether to keep the scheme specific to the Pacific or extend it to Southeast Asia – so getting this scheme right is important.</p>
<p>Whoever wins on May 21, protecting Pacific workers in Australia must be a policy priority, as temporary migration will continue to rise post-pandemic. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-the-wake-of-the-china-solomon-islands-pact-australia-needs-to-rethink-its-pacific-relationships-181702">In the wake of the China-Solomon Islands pact, Australia needs to rethink its Pacific relationships</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183119/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Foley receives funding from the Department of Education Skills and Employment via the Research Training Program. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Strating receives external funding from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, US Department of State, UK High Commission in Australia, and Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. </span></em></p>Whoever wins on May 21, protecting Pacific workers in Australia must be a policy priority, as temporary migration will continue to rise post-pandemic.Emily Foley, PhD Candidate, La Trobe University, La Trobe UniversityRebecca Strating, Director, La Trobe Asia and Associate Professor, La Trobe University, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1796122022-03-25T12:19:33Z2022-03-25T12:19:33Z2020 census miscounted Americans – 4 questions answered<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453610/original/file-20220322-17-1ukv0eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C0%2C5157%2C3448&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Census takers went door to door in 2020, as in past years, seeking to make the count as accurate as possible.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/2020CensusDoorKnockers/0075ed39582247b5a577b989138e5fa7/photo">AP Photo/John Raoux</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>_The census conducted in the U.S. every 10 years is meant to count everyone. But it doesn’t actually count everyone.</p>
<p><em>After every census, the U.S. Census Bureau reports how well it did at counting every person in the country. In 2020, as in past years, the census <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/u-s-census-bureau-report-finds-racial-gap-in-2020-population-count">didn’t get a completely accurate count</a>, according to the bureau’s own reporting. The official census number reported more non-Hispanic whites and people of Asian backgrounds in the U.S. than there actually were. And it reported too few Blacks, Hispanics and <a href="https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/special-reports/2022/02/21/census-historically-undercounted-indigenous-population-wisconsin/6570741001">Native Americans</a> who live on reservations.</em></p>
<p><em>The Conversation U.S. asked <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BHtyLUQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Aggie Yellow Horse</a>, a sociologist and demographer at Arizona State University, to explain why, and how, the census misses people, and how it’s possible to assess who wasn’t counted.</em>_</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453612/original/file-20220322-15-1l2y8bo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A person wearing a mask and a face shield writes on a clipboard while talking with a person in a car" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453612/original/file-20220322-15-1l2y8bo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453612/original/file-20220322-15-1l2y8bo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453612/original/file-20220322-15-1l2y8bo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453612/original/file-20220322-15-1l2y8bo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453612/original/file-20220322-15-1l2y8bo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453612/original/file-20220322-15-1l2y8bo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453612/original/file-20220322-15-1l2y8bo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Census workers found their time and ability to connect with people limited by the pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/CensusMontanaHouseSeat/3c04be6e29914360bc2b1e2b11609eab/photo">AP Photo/Matthew Brown</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>1. Who gets missed in the census?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2019/demo/2020-brief.html">people most commonly missed</a> are those with low income, people who rent or don’t have homes at all, people who live in rural areas and people who don’t speak or read English well. Often, these are people of color – Black Americans; Indigenous peoples; or people of Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander backgrounds.</p>
<p>Because of their living situations, these people can be hard for census takers to track down in the first place. And they may be more reluctant to participate because of concerns <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade/2020/planning-management/plan/final-analysis/2020-report-cbams-study-survey.html">about confidentiality, fear of repercussions and distrust of government</a>.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the U.S. Census Bureau tries to count everyone, aiming <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2020/02/census-bureau-reaches-native-hawaiians-and-pacific-islanders-through-music.html">targeted public relations campaigns</a> at specific communities to encourage members to participate. In addition, Census Bureau employees knock on doors in person across the country, trying to <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/2020-census-nonresponse-followup-completion-rates.html">follow up with those who did not respond to mailings, announcements and events</a>. </p>
<p>However, the pandemic made that process more difficult for the 2020 census, both by making people uncomfortable with in-person visits and by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/census-supreme-court-ruling.html">shortening the timeline for collecting the data</a>.</p>
<h2>2. Who got missed?</h2>
<p>The official estimates show that the 2020 census was really very accurate, capturing 99.8% of the nation’s residents overall. But the census <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/2020-census-estimates-of-undercount-and-overcount.html">missed counting</a> 3.3% of Black Americans, 5.6% of American Indians or Alaskan Natives who live on reservations and 5% of people of Hispanic or Latino origin. This could mean missing about 1.4 million Black Americans; 49,000 American Indians or Alaskan Natives who live on reservations; and 3.3 million people of Hispanic or Latino origin.</p>
<p>This performance is much worse than in the previous two censuses, when smaller proportions of those populations were missed.</p>
<p>The 2020 census also counted 1.64% more non-Hispanic whites than there actually are in the country. For example, college students could have been counted twice – at their college residence and at their parents’ home.</p>
<p><iframe id="Gz3oo" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Gz3oo/4/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>3. How can they count the people who were missed?</h2>
<p>It can be puzzling to understand how the Census Bureau can know how many people it missed. Efforts for measuring census accuracy <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2012/04/02/sample-surveys-and-the-1940-census/">started in 1940</a>. Census officials use two methods.</p>
<p>First, the Census Bureau uses <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/about/coverage-measurement/da.html">demographic analysis</a> to create an estimate of the population. That means the bureau calculates how many people might be added to the population counts, through birth registrations and immigration records, and how many people might be removed from them, through death record or emigration reports. Comparing that estimate with the actual count can reveal an <a href="https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/demo/popest/2020-demographic-analysis-tables.html">overall scale</a> of how many people the census missed.</p>
<p>As a second measure, the Census Bureau runs what it calls a “<a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-kits/2021/post-enumeration-survey.html">post-enumeration survey</a>,” taken after the initial census data is collected. The survey is conducted independent of the census and <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade/2020/planning-management/plan/memo-series/2020-memo-2022_06.html">randomly sent to a small group of households</a> from census blocks in each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The results of that survey are compared with the census results for those households and can reveal how many people were missed, or if some people were counted twice or counted in the wrong place.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453615/original/file-20220322-27-1hv1yd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man gestures at a screen showing two maps of political districts in South Carolina" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453615/original/file-20220322-27-1hv1yd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453615/original/file-20220322-27-1hv1yd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453615/original/file-20220322-27-1hv1yd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453615/original/file-20220322-27-1hv1yd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453615/original/file-20220322-27-1hv1yd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453615/original/file-20220322-27-1hv1yd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/453615/original/file-20220322-27-1hv1yd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Population figures formally reported by the Census Bureau for the purposes of reapportionment cannot be corrected, according to a 1999 Supreme Court ruling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Redistricting-SouthCarolina/3a5b086838a441f396539a20a71ec024/photo">AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Can the Census Bureau fix its data?</h2>
<p>The Census Bureau has determined that its 2020 data is not accurate and has measured the amount of that inaccuracy. But in 1999, the Supreme Court ruled that <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/525/326">the bureau cannot adjust the numbers</a> it sent to Congress and the states for the purpose of allocating seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and, therefore, Electoral College votes. That’s because federal law <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/13/141">bars the use of statistical sampling</a> in apportionment decisions and requires those changes to be made only on the basis of how many people were actually counted. That means political representation in Congress may not accurately reflect the constituencies the representatives serve.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/525/326">the numbers can be adjusted when used to divide up federal funding</a> for <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/01/01/1069610946/2020-census-correction-challenge-results-count-question-resolution">essential services in communities</a> around the nation. More than <a href="https://www.census.gov/about/what.html">US$675 billion a year is provided to tribal, state and local governments</a> proportionally according to their population numbers.</p>
<p>However, that adjustment happens only if tribal, state or local officials ask for it. The Census Bureau’s <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-kits/2021/2020-census-count-question-resolution.html">Count Question Resolution program</a> can correct 2020 census data until June 2023. After the 2010 census, the program received requests from 1,180 governments, of out about 39,000 nationwide. As a result, <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42092.pdf">about 2,700 people were newly added</a> to the census count, and about <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/01/01/1069610946/2020-census-correction-challenge-results-count-question-resolution">48,000 household addresses were corrected</a>.</p>
<p>This approach can lessen the harm done to communities where the census count missed people. But it doesn’t prevent the Census Bureau from missing them – or others – in the next census.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=weekly&source=inline-weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179612/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aggie Yellow Horse does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When the Census Bureau’s count of the population is inaccurate, it affects representation and government spending. Correcting errors isn’t always allowed.Aggie Yellow Horse, Assistant Professor of Asian Pacific American Studies, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1772162022-03-24T04:55:51Z2022-03-24T04:55:51ZKava may be coming to a supermarket or cafe near you. But what is it? Is it safe?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452666/original/file-20220317-8345-1u1tnhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C1%2C995%2C664&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/indian-fijian-pre-wedding-kava-drink-1624592482">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You might be hearing more about <a href="https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/kava/">kava</a> over coming months, the psychoactive drink better known in the Pacific, but becoming more widely available in Australia.</p>
<p>How it’s imported and regulated has changed. So you might be able to buy it in the supermarket, health-food shop or go to a kava bar to drink it with your friends.</p>
<p>You might be curious to try it and not sure it’s safe. Here’s what you need to know about kava in Australia.</p>
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<h2>What is kava?</h2>
<p><a href="https://healthbulletin.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/kava-bulletin-web.pdf">Kava</a> is made from the root of the kava plant (<em>Piper methysticum</em>). This economically significant crop has been grown and consumed for more than 3,000 years across the Pacific. </p>
<p>Traditionally, the root is ground, then soaked in water to make a drink. It is mainly used by men in countries including Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu for ceremonial, recreational and medicinal purposes. </p>
<p>Traditional drinking practices, which usually involve drinking kava with others, <a href="https://europepmc.org/article/med/18181414">moderate</a> kava consumption. Although heavier recreational drinking occurs and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/cdar.19.2.217.227">can cause harm</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-discussion-of-kava-imports-reflects-lack-of-cultural-understanding-115662">Australia's discussion of kava imports reflects lack of cultural understanding</a>
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</em>
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<p>Kava is not commonly used in Australia. However, it is used by some Pacific communities, for instance, by some Fijian, Tongan and Samoan Australians.</p>
<p>Kava is also used in a small number of <a href="https://healthbulletin.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/kava-bulletin-web.pdf">Aboriginal communities</a> in Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory. Kava was introduced to these communities as an alternative to alcohol in the 1980s. Its use peaked in the 1990s and early 2000s.</p>
<p>In Australia, kava is usually available as a powder, which is then made into a drink.</p>
<h2>What does it do? Is it safe?</h2>
<p>Drinking kava can lead to <a href="https://healthbulletin.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/kava-bulletin-web.pdf">effects including</a> feeling sociable and at peace. People also report having reduced anxiety and an overall positive mood, while remaining clear-headed. </p>
<p>Increasing levels of intoxication can lead to feelings such as numbness, sedation, a sense of muscle weakness and fatigue. </p>
<p>The World Health Organization considers the risk of kava toxicity “<a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/43630/9789241595261_eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">very low</a>”. However, kava use is not harmless.</p>
<p>High levels of kava use <a href="https://healthbulletin.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/kava-bulletin-web.pdf">causes</a> a scaly skin rash, weightloss, changes in liver enzymes and overall feelings of ill-health.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451536/original/file-20220311-18-g5uv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Root of kava plant" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451536/original/file-20220311-18-g5uv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451536/original/file-20220311-18-g5uv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451536/original/file-20220311-18-g5uv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451536/original/file-20220311-18-g5uv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451536/original/file-20220311-18-g5uv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451536/original/file-20220311-18-g5uv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451536/original/file-20220311-18-g5uv2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Traditionally, the root of the kava plant is ground and made into a drink, then shared.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kava-roots-selective-focus-background-1358294918">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Heavy kava use <a href="https://healthbulletin.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/kava-bulletin-web.pdf">is also associated with</a> a number of social harms. These harms are not specific to kava, but the harmful use of any drug. </p>
<p>This includes the impact of time spent accessing, using and recovering from kava use. This impacts someone’s capacity to fulfil family, cultural and workplace roles. There are also financial impacts from missed work, and buying kava. </p>
<p>When people in Arnhem Land used kava heavily, this led to <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2006/184/2/action-required-reduce-kava-supply-arnhem-land-again">significant community-wide</a> <a href="https://healthbulletin.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/kava-bulletin-web.pdf">harms</a>. These included a decline in community and cultural activities, and less participation in employment.</p>
<h2>What’s changed?</h2>
<p>Kava has a complicated regulatory history in Australia, with many changes in recent years, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>from December 2019</strong> the federal government launched a two-stage “<a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/pacific/economic-prosperity-in-the-pacific/australia-kava-pilot">kava pilot</a>”, aiming to boost trade with Pacific nations and making it easier for Pacific Australians to access kava for cultural reasons. Incoming passengers were allowed to bring in 4 kilograms per person 18 years or older (up from 2 kilograms per person).</p></li>
<li><p><strong>from December 2021</strong> the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2021L01615">second stage</a> of the pilot allowed kava to be commercially imported as a food product, with an import permit. Products need to carry labels saying “Use in moderation” and “May cause drowsiness”; these warnings must also be displayed where kava is sold. These changes bring Australia more in line with other nations with significant Pacific communities (such as the United States and New Zealand). </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Despite these changes at the federal level, it remains illegal to <a href="https://nt.gov.au/law/crime/kava">bring kava food products into</a> the Northern Territory. </p>
<p>The therapeutic use of kava extract – for anxiety, insomnia, and a range of other conditions – is not covered by the recent legislative changes.</p>
<h2>What will these changes mean?</h2>
<p>Under the latest changes, kava will be more widely available in Australia, from places including health-food shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, as well as online. </p>
<p>Kava bars are also starting to emerge, including a <a href="https://www.adnews.com.au/news/fijikava-campaign-to-calm-your-inner-karen-via-publicis-worldwide">pop-up bar in Brisbane</a>.</p>
<p>We don’t know if kava will have a broader appeal outside Pacific communities in Australia, and what the positive and negative implications of greater availability may be. </p>
<h2>Not everyone’s happy</h2>
<p>Previous regulatory changes related to kava <a href="https://healthbulletin.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/kava-bulletin-web.pdf">did not involve</a> consultation with affected communities, including Pacific communities in Australia, or adequate consultation with Aboriginal businesses, health organisations and communities. </p>
<p>For instance, the initial banning of kava imports to the Northern Territory did nothing to address the social determinants of health and underlying factors related to heavy kava use in some Arnhem Land communities.</p>
<p>Similarly, regulatory changes from 2019 did not occur with adequate Aboriginal community consultation. Community leaders have raised concerns of an increase in kava-related harms, including <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-04/morrisons-kava-import-plan-flies-in-face-police-evidence-elders/10775068">increased black-market activity</a> in the Northern Territory. </p>
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<h2>What needs to happen next?</h2>
<p>The federal government says the latest changes for Australia will be <a href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/australia-commercial-kava-pilot-monitoring-evaluation.pdf">monitored and evaluated</a> by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre working with the Indigenous owned organisation Ninti One. </p>
<p>This will look at the health, social, cultural and economic effects of increased kava availability. The final report is due in mid-2023 and we don’t know if the results will be publicly reported. </p>
<p>For the evaluation to be of value to all communities impacted by kava, we need genuine collaboration with these communities. This needs to consider the diversity of opinion in both Pacific communities in Australia and Aboriginal communities using kava. </p>
<p>Further research on the benefits and harms associated with kava, including identifying safe levels of consumption, is also needed. </p>
<p>Finally, we need surveillance of known risks. This includes driving under the influence of kava, and black-market activity related to kava entering the Northern Territory.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177216/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Butt, at the National Drug Research Institute, has previously received funding from the Department of Health, Federal Government and Healthway. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Annalee Stearne receives funding from the NHMRC via the Centre for Research Excellence: Indigenous Health and Alcohol. Annalee is also a board member of Children's Ground (<a href="https://childrensground.org.au/">https://childrensground.org.au/</a>) and the National Centre for Clinical Research into Emerging Drugs (<a href="https://nccred.org.au/">https://nccred.org.au/</a>). </span></em></p>Kava is not commonly used in Australia. But that will change and we need to keep an eye on what happens next.Julia Butt, Lecturer, Clinical Psychologist, Edith Cowan UniversityAnnalee Stearne, Research Associate and PhD candidate, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1690692021-10-06T11:26:02Z2021-10-06T11:26:02ZClimate finance: rich countries aren’t meeting aid targets – could legal action force them?<p>The climate crisis is already taking a heavy toll on some developing countries, causing damage to crops and infrastructure and loss of people’s homes and communities. Sea levels around Papua New Guinea, an island nation in the south-western Pacific, have risen 7mm a year since 1993 – <a href="https://www.pacificclimatechangescience.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Papua-New-Guinea.pdf">more than double</a> the global average. </p>
<p>On the Carteret Islands, an atoll to the west, <a href="https://www.equatorinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/case_1473429470.pdf">half the islanders</a> have reportedly relocated. They’ve had to sever connections to ancestral lands where families are buried, where traditional ways of living have endured for generations and where there’s a particular way of participating in collective and democratic life. </p>
<p>At COP26, the UN climate summit in Glasgow in November, countries will discuss the potential for new and additional sources of monetary aid known as climate finance, some of which will help countries deal with this loss and damage. Despite promising in 2009 to raise US$100 billion (£73.8 billion) a year in climate finance by 2020, rich countries have failed to meet this target. </p>
<p>On top of this, <a href="https://www.climatechangenews.com/2021/08/09/climate-crisis-climate-finance-drying/">80%</a> of their contributions are loans or other forms of private finance instead of grants. This threatens to pile more debt on countries already struggling with the financial burden of the pandemic.</p>
<p>Delegates from Papua New Guinea and other poorer countries come together through the <a href="https://www.ldc-climate.org/">Least Developed Countries</a> group and the <a href="https://twitter.com/TheCVF?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Climate Vulnerable Forum</a>, and will arrive at COP26 hoping for a breakthrough. But frustrated with the UN negotiations, communities around the world are finding new ways to make companies and states pay – by taking them to court.</p>
<p>While negotiations over climate finance were breaking down at the last UN summit in 2019, the national Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines published findings from its <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2019/12/landmark-decision-by-philippines-human-rights-commission-paves-way-for-climate-litigation/">four-year inquiry</a> into the impacts of climate change on human rights in the country. The commission concluded that 47 major emitting companies could be found liable for human rights violations arising from climate change. It also claimed that companies which had obstructed evidence or deceived the public about the link between emissions and climate change could be liable under criminal laws.</p>
<p>How likely any of these companies or states are to pay damages will depend on how courts respond. The commission, as with many human rights frameworks globally, lacks binding enforcement powers.</p>
<p>But the Higher Regional Court Hamm in Germany doesn’t. That’s where the case of Peruvian farmer Saul Luciana Lluyia is being heard. Lluyia is taking <a href="https://germanwatch.org/en/huaraz">legal action</a> against the Germany energy company RWE. His suit alleges that RWE knowingly contributed to climate change by emitting greenhouse gases, and so bears some responsibility for the melting mountain glaciers which threaten his farm and home city of Huaraz in northern Peru, including its 120,000 residents.</p>
<p>The pandemic has delayed the gathering of evidence in Huaraz, but one legal argument in support of Lliuya’s claim characterises the emissions of RWE as a nuisance that he should be compensated for. The German court can enforce penalties in nuisances cases. As scientific analysis of emission attribution <a href="https://theconversation.com/pinpointing-the-role-of-climate-change-in-every-storm-is-impossible-and-a-luxury-most-countries-cant-afford-167925">improves</a>, making it possible to more accurately link individual entities like private companies to climate impacts, cases like Lliuya’s could increase.</p>
<p>In the last two years alone, there have been several landmark cases which have ruled against states and companies accused of not doing enough to decarbonise. The Dutch nonprofit Urgenda forced the government of the Netherlands to reduce emissions in line with its legal obligations after it won its case in the country’s supreme court. </p>
<p>On May 26 2021, another Dutch case involving more than 17,000 individual claimants ended with The Hague District Court <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/may/26/court-orders-royal-dutch-shell-to-cut-carbon-emissions-by-45-by-2030">ordering Shell</a>, the oil and gas company, to reduce CO₂ emissions by 45% by 2030 relative to 2019 levels.</p>
<p>The outcomes of these two cases would reduce the future scale of loss and damage, rather than compensate victims today. But they show that courts can be persuaded to make states and companies honour the duty of care they owe the public in light of climate change. That could secure contributions to flood defences, or the rebuilding process after storms have passed.</p>
<p>And if domestic courts start finding that corporations which disproportionately contributed to the crisis have responsibilities to redress them, it may even encourage states to come to political agreements about meeting financing needs in countries that are on the frontline of climate impacts.</p>
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<img alt="COP26: the world's biggest climate talks" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424739/original/file-20211005-17-cgrf2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424739/original/file-20211005-17-cgrf2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424739/original/file-20211005-17-cgrf2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424739/original/file-20211005-17-cgrf2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424739/original/file-20211005-17-cgrf2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424739/original/file-20211005-17-cgrf2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424739/original/file-20211005-17-cgrf2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong>This story is part of The Conversation’s coverage on COP26, the Glasgow climate conference, by experts from around the world.</strong>
<br><em>Amid a rising tide of climate news and stories, The Conversation is here to clear the air and make sure you get information you can trust. <a href="https://page.theconversation.com/cop26-glasgow-2021-climate-change-summit/"><strong>More.</strong></a></em> </p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169069/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Harpreet Kaur Paul is affiliated with ActionAid.</span></em></p>Rich countries have promised to compensate poor ones for the impacts of climate change.Harpreet Kaur Paul, PhD Candidate in Climate Justice Policy, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1585302021-06-04T04:08:17Z2021-06-04T04:08:17ZFrom the Caribbean to Queensland: re-examining Australia’s ‘blackbirding’ past and its roots in the global slave trade<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394719/original/file-20210413-13-1757a0b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=431%2C0%2C4967%2C4185&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Sea Islander children in Queensland, around 1902-05.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Queensland State Library</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are moves afoot to scrub colonial businessman Benjamin Boyd’s name from the map. The owners of historic Boydtown on the NSW south coast are <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/historic-boydtown-set-to-be-renamed-due-to-blackbirding-links-20210328-p57eos.html#:%7E:text=The%20owners%20of%20historic%20Boydtown,Park%20in%20the%20same%20area.">planning to change its name</a>, while Ben Boyd National Park may also be renamed. Residents in North Sydney will take part in a survey to <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/mosman-daily/ben-boyd-road-north-sydney-council-asks-residents-about-renaming/news-story/4a71edce727086572fc809662f85f1bd">rename Ben Boyd Road</a>, too. </p>
<p>The reason: Boyd’s links to “blackbirding” in the 19th century. </p>
<p>Blackbirding was a term given to the trade of kidnapping or tricking Pacific Islanders on board ships so they could be carried away to work in Australia. </p>
<p>Boyd instigated this practice in the late 1840s, bringing <a href="http://www.assipj.com.au/southsea/wp-content/uploads/docs/10_benjamin_boyd_importation_of_ssi_into_nsw.pdf">the first group</a> of Pacific Islanders to work on land in the Australian colonies. Although his scheme ultimately failed, other labour traders would deliver approximately <a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/islander-labourers">62,000 islanders</a> to Queensland and NSW between the 1860s and 1900s.</p>
<p>The moves to rename the NSW sites are largely due to Australian South Sea Islanders’ struggles for recognition of what their ancestors endured. They often <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-22/australian-south-sea-islanders-blackbirding/9270734">prefer the term slavery</a> to indentured labour and <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2020/08/15/south-sea-islanders-pursue-recognition-slavery-townsville">demand full acknowledgement</a> of what happened. </p>
<p>One way this might be achieved is by tracing Pacific Islander blackbirding back to its roots and placing it within the global context of slavery. </p>
<p>This history — painful and provocative as it might be — offers a way to bridge the divisions between those who are proud of Australia’s sugar pioneers and Australian South Sea Islanders who are still <a href="http://www.assipj.com.au/category/wantok-2014/">dealing with the losses</a> from this ugly past. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/monumental-errors-how-australia-can-fix-its-racist-colonial-statues-82980">Monumental errors: how Australia can fix its racist colonial statues</a>
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<h2>Boyd’s history with slavery</h2>
<p>To take this broader perspective, we need to reexamine Boyd’s early life. Boyd was <a href="https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/black-lives-still-dont-matter-here/">the son of a wealthy London slave trader</a>, Edward Boyd, whose business shipped several thousand enslaved people to sugar plantations in the Caribbean and fought against the abolition of the slave trade in 1807.</p>
<p>This matters. Benjamin Boyd claimed to be a self-made man, but his education, home life, connections and worldview were fostered by his father’s profession and the wealth it had created. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403255/original/file-20210528-13-1wgcljr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403255/original/file-20210528-13-1wgcljr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=720&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403255/original/file-20210528-13-1wgcljr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=720&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403255/original/file-20210528-13-1wgcljr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=720&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403255/original/file-20210528-13-1wgcljr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403255/original/file-20210528-13-1wgcljr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403255/original/file-20210528-13-1wgcljr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=904&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Benjamin Boyd portrait by unknown artist, 1830s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">State Library of New South Wales</span></span>
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<p>As Marion Diamond wrote in her <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/486126">1988 biography of Boyd</a>, he had grown up in Britain with an African servant named Dick. As a child aboard one of Edward Boyd’s slave ships, Dick had become too sick to make a profit at market. Instead of being thrown overboard as “refuse”, as was usual, Dick was taken to Britain to be a servant. </p>
<p>Benjamin’s preconceived ideas of “Black” labour and his own place in the world were based on these early experiences of being served tea by Dick. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/think-slavery-in-australia-was-all-in-the-past-think-again-140543">Think slavery in Australia was all in the past? Think again</a>
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<p>He was hardly alone among blackbirders in having such a background. It would be extraordinary if he had been. </p>
<p>The reason the importation of Pacific labourers took off in the 1860s, following Boyd’s earlier example, was the fledgling Australian sugar industry. </p>
<p>Sugar had profoundly changed the Americas by this time, creating unparalleled wealth for Britain, France, the Netherlands and other colonisers. It also played a central role in industrialisation. </p>
<p>Sugar’s voracious labour demands — and massive profit margins — accounted for a vast percentage of the <a href="https://slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates">12 million or so African captives</a> delivered for sale in the Americas. </p>
<p>Sugar and slavery created many of Britain’s richest men. And when slavery was <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Slavery-Abolition-Act">abolished</a> in much of the British empire in 1833-34, sugar planters gained by far the <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/">biggest compensation payouts</a> for the loss of their human property. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403257/original/file-20210528-13-1v5wrfq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403257/original/file-20210528-13-1v5wrfq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403257/original/file-20210528-13-1v5wrfq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403257/original/file-20210528-13-1v5wrfq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403257/original/file-20210528-13-1v5wrfq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=586&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403257/original/file-20210528-13-1v5wrfq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=586&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403257/original/file-20210528-13-1v5wrfq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=586&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sugarcane field on the Clarence River in northern NSW, 1921–23.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">State Library of New South Wales</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Australian-Caribbean connections</h2>
<p>It is no wonder many of Australia’s sugar pioneers and blackbirders had family backgrounds, fortunes and/or experiences from the slave-sugar complex of the Caribbean (as well as Mauritius in the Indian Ocean). I have so far found more than 200 such people who came to Australia to start again. </p>
<p>Among them was <a href="https://academic.oup.com/hwj/article/doi/10.1093/hwj/dbaa018/5909116">Louis Hope</a>, celebrated as Queensland’s sugar pioneer, who came from a West Indies slave trading and owning family. Ormiston House, Hope’s former home, contains a fawning plaque to him, which mentions neither his pioneering use of South Sea Islander workers, nor his family’s <a href="https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/review-ordered-future-statue-outside-historic-rbs-headquarters-over-slavery-links-2897361">past connections to slavery</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://lbsatucl.wordpress.com/2018/07/25/dreams-of-a-new-plantation-society-legacies-of-british-slavery-in-queensland-australia/">John Ewen Davidson</a>, the “doyen” of the Mackay sugar industry, was also from one of the wealthiest slave-owning dynasties in the West Indies going back four generations. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/was-there-slavery-in-australia-yes-it-shouldnt-even-be-up-for-debate-140544">Was there slavery in Australia? Yes. It shouldn't even be up for debate</a>
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<p>Caribbean planters and their children did not only bring money to Australia, but also ideas of how sugar could best be grown. They were experts in what labourers should look like: dark-skinned, cheap and easy to control by restricting options for escape. </p>
<p>They sought managers from the West Indies to run their plantations, such as John Buhot of the Barbados, for whom there is <a href="https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/industry/display/90783-john-buhot">a plaque</a> in Brisbane’s Botanic Gardens. <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/3226">Buhot’s parents</a> were minor slave owners and he had trained there as a sugar boiler and manager. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403258/original/file-20210528-14-wa4ted.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403258/original/file-20210528-14-wa4ted.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403258/original/file-20210528-14-wa4ted.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403258/original/file-20210528-14-wa4ted.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403258/original/file-20210528-14-wa4ted.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403258/original/file-20210528-14-wa4ted.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403258/original/file-20210528-14-wa4ted.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">John Buhot is celebrated as a pioneer in Queensland’s sugar industry.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Queensland State Archives</span></span>
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<p>Other managers were recruited from the US, Cuba and Brazil, where slavery was either just ending or not yet abolished. </p>
<p>In other words, the men who had experience managing enslaved African people in the Americas were sought to oversee Pacific Islanders, despite them being not legally enslaved in Australia. It was thought to be expedient. </p>
<h2>The naming of Australian places</h2>
<p>These connections to the Atlantic slavery trade dot Australia. The central NSW coastal suburb of Tascott, for instance, is named for <a href="https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/5434_sl_magazine_summer_2019-20_accessible.pdf">Thomas Alison Scott</a>, who had previously worked at his uncle’s slave-trading company and then as a manager at his father’s plantation in Antigua. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404434/original/file-20210604-27-hgmp8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404434/original/file-20210604-27-hgmp8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404434/original/file-20210604-27-hgmp8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404434/original/file-20210604-27-hgmp8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404434/original/file-20210604-27-hgmp8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1013&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404434/original/file-20210604-27-hgmp8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1013&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404434/original/file-20210604-27-hgmp8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1013&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Australian South Sea Islander worker standing among sugar cane on a plantation in Mackay, Queensland, 1895.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">State Library of Queensland</span></span>
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<p>When Scott arrived in Australia, he appropriated the sugar-growing successes of a black Antiguan slave as his own. </p>
<p>For others, the use of Caribbean names for Australian locations was both commemorative and hopeful of the wealth they hoped to reproduce. The Brown brothers, whose mother was from the West Indies, settled on the Fraser Coast and named their <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/148331956?searchTerm=antigua%20plantation">sugar plantation Antigua</a>. This name remains in use today. </p>
<p>Far more notable were the Longs, who had been among the wealthiest and most influential slaveholders in Jamaica since 1655. They also relocated to Queensland in the 19th century and named their plantation north of Mackay for Cuba’s capital, <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/163270654?searchTerm=habana%20plantation">Habana</a>. </p>
<p>Connections to the Caribbean were celebrated in this way even after Britain became fervently anti-slavery. </p>
<p>If Pacific labour is seen not as an Australian peculiarity but instead as part of the global slave trade, it becomes far easier to grasp the scope of the grief and disadvantage that Australian South Sea Islanders are still dealing with. </p>
<p>As Pacific Islanders have been demanding for some time, we need to examine and confront this history before we can move forward.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158530/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Christopher does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia’s use of Pacific Islander workers in the late 19th century was part of a much bigger story of British sugar barons and the trans-Atlantic slave trade.Emma Christopher, Scientia Fellow, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1504472020-11-24T23:48:05Z2020-11-24T23:48:05ZNZ needs a plan to help migrant workers pick fruit and veg, or prices will soar and farms go bust<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371161/original/file-20201124-17-m0z4j8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C8%2C5937%2C3964&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID border restrictions might be saving lives but they’re also <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/123353079/frustration-and-desperation-as-harvest-workers-struggle-to-enter-nz">threatening the livelihoods</a> of New Zealand farmers, unless a way can be found to allow Pacific Island seasonal workers to return and pick the crops.</p>
<p>Since its inception in 2007, the Recognised Seasonal Employer (<a href="https://www.picknz.co.nz/resources/rse/">RSE</a>) scheme has enabled thousands of Pacific workers to be employed on New Zealand’s farms and orchards for around four months each year. </p>
<p>But not this year, due to the stringent border controls. Workers already in New Zealand when the borders closed have since been repatriated, leaving a severe workforce shortage.</p>
<p>As we head into <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/aussie-govt-attempts-to-pinch-kiwi-seasonal-workers-offering-2000-to-work-in-australia/OVROUBW3SYKPBLUWYHBJ5LRIKQ/">peak harvest time</a>, growers can only watch and wait as <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/122741361/this-just-cannot-happen-95-billion-at-risk-as-horticulture-sector-struggles-to-fill-25anhour-jobs">NZ$9.5 billion worth</a> of fruit and vegetables go unpicked and risk rotting in place.</p>
<p>If this summer’s crops quite literally go to the birds, then farms may go under, families will suffer and consumers will see the price of seasonal produce <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/waikato-news/news/strawberries-will-be-left-in-the-fields-if-more-pickers-cant-be-found/ZW5CGYD74J2NXJBV6JAIZLV26E/">skyrocket</a>. The recent <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018772730/slim-pickings-reporting-the-shortage-of-labour-for-fruit-and-veges">NZ$30 a kg price</a> of courgettes — more than triple the normal price — was a warning.</p>
<p>Aside from allowing migrant workers to return safely, the other often proposed solution is to encourage newly unemployed Kiwi job seekers to do the work. Both present challenges.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="expensive courgettes in a supermarket" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Market signals: the price of courgettes tripled due to the cost of picking during a critical labour shortage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The problems with picking</h2>
<p>Leading growers say the arduous nature of the work makes it difficult to attract and retain domestic workers — even in an economic recession.</p>
<p>Too often billed as “unskilled”, crop picking is actually <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/aussie-govt-attempts-to-pinch-kiwi-seasonal-workers-offering-2000-to-work-in-australia/OVROUBW3SYKPBLUWYHBJ5LRIKQ/">highly specialised</a> work. Growers invest time and money training seasonal workers to ensure their crops are harvested correctly and handled with the care needed to command good prices.</p>
<p>Such investments show the relationship between many growers and pickers is more than simply transactional. For many, it’s an <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/eyewitness/audio/2018726025/rse-scheme-transformed-the-new-zealand-fruit-growing-industry">ongoing, personal and professional engagement</a> that is renewed annually. </p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/courageous-investment-means-innovation-stays-in-nz-not-sold-off-overseas-150381">'Courageous' investment means innovation stays in NZ, not sold off overseas</a>
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<p>The average domestic worker — particularly those who have never considered crop picking — may simply not have the skills or availability required for the job.</p>
<p>As for the money, farm workers <a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/kiwi-fruit-pickers-have-simple-message-growers-cry-labour-pay-us-more">receive</a> a minimum wage (NZ$18.90 an hour) base rate, plus holiday pay. If they want to earn more, labourers can work more hours or pick more fruit.</p>
<p>Figures from the industry show the average pay over the past season ranged from <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/122835805/is-pay-the-problem-how-much-indemand-orchard-workers-really-earn">NZ$21.64 to NZ$27.36</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1322004659981021186"}"></div></p>
<h2>Low pay is an issue</h2>
<p>Ironically, the RSE scheme itself is at least partially to blame for the low rates of pay. The introduction of the scheme capped most jobs in the agriculture and horticulture sectors at <a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/kiwi-fruit-pickers-have-simple-message-growers-cry-labour-pay-us-more">NZ$20 an hour</a>. </p>
<p>While this is considered a relatively high rate for migrant workers, domestic workers may not view it as a sustainable income. </p>
<p>However, some growers believe paying more may not necessarily generate greater interest from domestic workers. One Waikato berry farm owner who has been working with the Ministry of Social Development to hire domestic workers has <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/123179398/strawberry-farm-anticipates-losing-onethird-of-its-crops-due-to-lack-of-pickers-">said</a> people “weren’t applying”.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pacific-tourism-is-desperate-for-a-vaccine-and-travel-freedoms-but-the-industry-must-learn-from-this-crisis-150722">Pacific tourism is desperate for a vaccine and travel freedoms, but the industry must learn from this crisis</a>
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</p>
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<p>Logistics are also a challenge for many <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northland-age/news/courgettes-rot-for-a-lack-of-pickers/MARAN5P7PMFR25L37U5ZNSDGDM/">unemployed domestic workers</a>. Rural, seasonal work may be geographically distant or simply not realistic as a solution to long-term unemployment. </p>
<p>The disruptive nature of the job also creates problems with childcare and other domestic responsibilities, as well as maintaining a work-life balance. Those issues are less pressing for migrant workers who arrive with the sole purpose of earning, and whose families and networks are prepared for their absence.</p>
<h2>Towards a migrant solution</h2>
<p>Though the government has begun investigating a possible trans-Pacific travel bubble, it may well be months before that becomes a reality. </p>
<p>Given the urgency of the situation, one solution lies in restructuring the current government-run Managed Isolation and Quarantine (<a href="https://www.miq.govt.nz/">MIQ</a>) system — perhaps using an adapted public-private partnership (<a href="https://infracom.govt.nz/major-projects/public-private-partnerships/">PPP</a>) model.</p>
<p>These MIQ facilities could be dedicated to accommodating Pacific Island migrant workers employed under the RSE scheme. The facilities would be funded and resourced privately by the agricultural industry, in strict compliance with Ministry of Health requirements. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-reasons-why-banishing-backpackers-and-targeting-wealthy-tourists-would-be-a-mistake-for-nz-150639">5 reasons why banishing backpackers and targeting wealthy tourists would be a mistake for NZ</a>
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<p>One leading grower who <a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/covid-19-border-restrictions-putting-pressure-nzs-largest-strawberry-producer">sees the benefit</a> of the idea is Francie Perry of Perry’s Berries, New Zealand’s largest strawberry grower:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’ve got a facility that would be suitable for quarantine and we could quarantine 71 people in it and that would get us through.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It’s commendable the government is encouraging the industry to find ways around its reliance on offshore workers and offer greater incentives to attract and retain Kiwi employees. </p>
<p>Collaborating to establish an <a href="https://www.primaryito.ac.nz/grow-your-career/free-apprenticeships-and-training/">apprenticeship programme</a> to encourage young New Zealanders to consider employment in our horticulture and agriculture sectors makes sense.</p>
<p>But this is a long-term vision, not a solution to the immediate crisis. </p>
<p>In the interim, a public-private approach to managed quarantine offers a viable solution that will benefit both the industry and the workers desperate to return to our fields, farms and orchards. The time to act is now.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150447/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Swati Nagar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Pandemic border restrictions are keeping seasonal crop pickers from the Pacific out of New Zealand. Would adapting the quarantine system help?Swati Nagar, Lecturer, International Business, Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1469622020-10-02T13:56:04Z2020-10-02T13:56:04Z500 whales stranded in Tasmania – indigenous elders are best guides to understanding this tragedy<p>Close to 500 pilot whales beached themselves in September 2020, in what has been described as Australia’s <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/world/380-pilot-whales-dead-in-largest-mass-stranding-ever-recorded-in-australia-nearly-500-still-stranded-in-tasmania-8847071.html#:%7E:text=Hobart%3A%20More%20pilot%20whales%20were,ever%20recorded%20in%20the%20country.">biggest mass stranding</a> on record. Rescue efforts <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/world/australia/tasmania-beached-whales.html">saved</a> 108 of the marine mammals, which belong to the dolphin family, but <a href="https://institutions.newscientist.com/article/dn4428-predator-theory-for-whale-mass-stranding/">scientific attempts</a> to explain the tragedy have so far offered only theories, including sickness, navigational errors, and sudden changes in the tide.</p>
<p>Indigenous peoples throughout the Pacific, including the Maori of Aotearoa (New Zealand), have been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/03/what-is-the-sea-telling-us-maori-tribes-fearful-over-whale-strandings">raising the alarm</a> for some time. For generations, people here have watched the movements of these whales closely to help them navigate the world’s largest ocean. </p>
<p>For the Aboriginal people of Australia and indigenous communities throughout the Pacific, changes in whale behaviour are ominous. With a rich oral history to draw from, the indigenous people of the Pacific are among our best guides for making sense of the recent strandings, and the wider environmental changes they portend.</p>
<h2>Ocean giants in Pacific folklore</h2>
<p>The slipstreams of whales and dolphins weave throughout the folklore of the Pacific Islands. The Maori tell the story of Paikea who, when faced with drowning due to the machinations of his evil brother, recited an incantation and summoned a whale to save himself. </p>
<p>The seaways between the Central Carolines and the Marianas would chant of Ikelap – “the big fish” – when it was sighted by voyagers. It was a signpost that the journey was nearing the east coast of Guam. Western mariners would come to know this big fish as the pilot whale – a namesake that speaks to it being a dependable guide.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A black long-finned pilot whale mother swims with her grey calf close behind." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361368/original/file-20201002-17-1qiawbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361368/original/file-20201002-17-1qiawbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361368/original/file-20201002-17-1qiawbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361368/original/file-20201002-17-1qiawbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361368/original/file-20201002-17-1qiawbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361368/original/file-20201002-17-1qiawbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361368/original/file-20201002-17-1qiawbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ancient voyagers tracked pilot whales in order to help navigate the Pacific Ocean.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/long-finned-pilot-whale-mother-calf-565369348">Andrew Sutton/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s a common belief among many different Pacific communities that whales and dolphins are spirit transformations or carriers of ancestors. As such, whales are often sought for spiritual guidance to <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/about-us/science-publications/conservation-publications/native-animals/marine-mammals/conservation-of-whales-in-the-21st-century/whaling-and-new-zealand/the-indigenous-relationship-with-whales-in-new-zealand/">decide</a> where to settle and when to avoid fishing or sailing. </p>
<p>Changes in whale migratory routes, songs and unusual surfacing behaviour are all instructive, and observations of distressed whales – to a degree that’s far outside the norm – are interpreted as significant omens. In Tikopia, part of the Solomon Islands, the stranding of whales signified imminent spiritual danger.</p>
<p>Since their whaling rights are protected under the International Whaling Commission, indigenous catch reports have also been used to help <a href="https://iwc.int/humpback-whale">track whale populations</a> and to identify when commercial whaling was depleting populations in the past.</p>
<p>Indigenous accounts are invaluable as they provide a reliable, long-term record of how whale populations have changed over time according to changes in their environment.</p>
<h2>What the whales foretold</h2>
<p>Environmental change in the Pacific is not new. Oral history recalls when, at the end of the last ice age, <em>fenua imi</em> (an island-eating demon), swallowed the land and forced the migration of its peoples across Oceania. The history of the Pacific is a history of migration, and the whales and dolphins have accompanied these movements, guiding voyagers across the vast ocean. </p>
<p>Climate change could be considered the modern return of <em>fenua imi</em>. But it comes with additional barriers. Political and legal borders now restrict the free movement of people across the Pacific, even as climate change threatens to inundate these vulnerable islands with storms, rising tides and the destruction of vital habitat such as mangroves and coral reefs. </p>
<p>While much international attention has focused on what sea level rise will mean for the low-lying lands of the Pacific, deep changes within the oceans are just as urgent. One of the North Pacific’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/worst-marine-heatwave-on-record-killed-one-million-seabirds-in-north-pacific-ocean-129842">worst marine heatwaves</a> on record killed one million seabirds between the summer of 2015 and the spring of 2016. Hotspots of marine biodiversity are threatened by <a href="https://theconversation.com/galapagos-how-to-protect-the-islands-amazing-marine-life-from-huge-chinese-fishing-fleets-144927">overfishing</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/deep-sea-mining-threatens-indigenous-culture-in-papua-new-guinea-112012">deep-sea mining</a>. And while many people have heard of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/great-pacific-garbage-patch-46255">Great Pacific Garbage Patch</a>, fewer know about the poisons that this <a href="https://theconversation.com/plastic-poisons-ocean-bacteria-that-produce-10-of-the-worlds-oxygen-and-prop-up-the-marine-food-chain-117493">floating plastic waste</a> produces, killing microorganisms that produce oxygen and feed marine life. The recent whale strandings, historic in scale, are a reminder that problems in the biosphere cannot be treated in isolation.</p>
<p>Listening to indigenous communities throughout the Pacific about environmental change is not only important, but it is also vital in our attempts to correct the damage done to marine ecosystems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146962/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Niki JP Alsford does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s time to listen to warnings from the people of the Pacific.Niki JP Alsford, Professor in Asia Pacific Studies, Director of the Asia Pacific Studies Institutes, University of Central LancashireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1451522020-08-31T12:25:43Z2020-08-31T12:25:43ZShortened census count will hurt communities of color<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355187/original/file-20200827-24-l37sv1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C18%2C4013%2C2999&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Community groups, like this one in Phoenix, have been working to get people of color to contribute their information to the census.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/2020CensusBestLaidPlans/01fce68aaa8743b8bee855e67b4ede18/photo">AP Photo/Terry Tang</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Census Bureau is having a harder time than in the past counting all Americans, and is now saying its workers will spend less time trying to count everyone.</p>
<p>In August, the Trump administration announced <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/delivering-complete-accurate-count.html">the plan to end the 2020 Census count a month early</a>, <a href="https://www.rollcall.com/2020/08/11/shaheen-asks-for-watchdog-probe-into-census-bureau-schedule/">on Sept. 30</a> instead of Oct. 31. With about a month left before that new end date, <a href="https://2020census.gov/en/response-rates.html">fewer than two-thirds of U.S. households</a> have been counted so far.</p>
<p>The result will be that the <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census/cb12-95.html">census will count fewer</a> Black Americans, Indigenous peoples, Asian Americans and Americans of Hispanic or Latino origin <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/27/politics/trump-census-government-watchdog-high-risk/index.html">than actually live in the U.S.</a> That will mean less public money for essential services in their communities, and less representation by elected officials at the state and federal levels.</p>
<h2>An effort to find everyone</h2>
<p>Some people – including people of color, poorer people, rural residents and people who are not U.S. citizens – are <a href="https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/program-management/final-analysis-reports/2020-report-cbams-study-survey.pdf">less likely to respond to the census</a>. In part, that’s because they have less convenient access to the mail, telephone and online services needed to respond to the survey. </p>
<p>In addition, some communities <a href="https://aapidata.com/blog/census2020-asian-am-problem/">distrust the system</a>. Among Japanese Americans, that distrust is because they recall how <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/04/03/secret-use-of-census-info-helped-send-japanese-americans-to-internment-camps-in-wwii/">census data was used to round up Japanese Americans</a> for internment during World War II.</p>
<p>The Census Bureau starts the census by asking Americans to respond themselves. But for those who don’t respond, there is a second phase of counting, in which census workers fan out across the country to knock on doors and help people include themselves in the national count. </p>
<p>For 2020, this second phase was originally planned to begin on May 13, but the pandemic delayed its start until Aug. 9. With the advanced end date, there will be only 52 days to count the residents of more than one-third of all the <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/HSD410218">estimated 120 million households</a> in the U.S. In 2010, the in-person follow-up effort <a href="https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/2010-background-crs.pdf">had 71 days</a> to cover a <a href="https://gc.cuny.edu/Page-Elements/Academics-Research-Centers-Initiatives/Centers-and-Institutes/Center-for-Urban-Research/CUR-research-initiatives/Census-Self-Response-Rates-Mapped-and-Analyzed-2000,-2010,-and-(soon)-2020">smaller share of American households</a>.</p>
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<h2>Missing people of color</h2>
<p>Even <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/2020-census/planning-management/planning-docs/operational-plan.html">before the delayed beginning and the shortening</a> of the second phase, the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, <a href="https://apps.urban.org/features/2020-census/">projected that the census results would systematically undercount</a> racial minorities and people of Hispanic or Latino origin.</p>
<p>All communities of color were projected to be underrepresented in the count – meaning the Census Bureau would report fewer people of that racial or ethnic background than actually live in the U.S. The biggest undercount projection was for Black Americans: The <a href="https://apps.urban.org/features/2020-census/">Urban Institute projected the census would fail to count</a> 3.2%, or more than 1.5 million. The census was expected to miss more than 1.7 million people of Hispanic and Latino origin, 2.8% of their real total. More than 1 in 100 people of Alaska Native or American Indian background would not be counted, and a similar share of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.</p>
<p>But these detailed estimates of how many people the census might miss do not make it easier to somehow correct the count. The Census Bureau does <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/about/coverage-measurement.html">extensive work to account for errors and missing people</a>, but only after looking at the entire response and conducting additional research. Complete census data also includes <a href="https://2020census.gov/en/about-questions.html">people’s ages, genders, whether they own or rent their homes</a> and whether they have other racial or ethnic backgrounds. The smaller those errors are, the more accurate the data will be.</p>
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<h2>Hurting people on tribal lands the most</h2>
<p>The shortened timeline for counting will be especially hard on <a href="https://www.aisc.ucla.edu/news/akee_census2020.aspx">Alaska Native and American Indian peoples on tribal lands</a>, who have <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/06/census-coronavirus-native-americans/">historically low response rates</a>, in part because of longstanding distrust of the U.S. government, which has a history of <a href="https://theconversation.com/supreme-court-upholds-american-indian-treaty-promises-orders-oklahoma-to-follow-federal-law-142459">violating treaties</a> and <a href="https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/12-20-Broken-Promises.pdf">imposing other injustices</a> on Indigenous peoples.</p>
<p>In 2010, for instance, only <a href="https://2020census.gov/en/response-rates.html">29.4% of residents of Navajo Nation lands responded</a> to the census. At least so far in 2020, it’s even lower. For instance, as of August 28, just <a href="https://2020census.gov/en/response-rates.html">17.9% of Navajo Nation residents</a> have responded – and only 3.6% of the community used the internet to do so.</p>
<p>According to the latest government data, <a href="https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=S25&g=0100000US_2500000US2430&tid=ACSST5Y2018.S2504&hidePreview=true">14.1% of households on the Navajo Nation reservation do not have telephone service</a>, and <a href="https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=S25&g=0100000US_2500000US2430&tid=ACSST5Y2018.S2504&hidePreview=true">71.5% of them don’t have internet service</a>. That’s compared with 2.2% of all U.S. households lacking phone service and 14.7% lacking internet service.</p>
<p>The low Navajo Nation response rate could be due to several other reasons, too. Many Navajo Nation households <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/2019/10/06/some-native-americans-no/">have no formal home address</a>. Instead, they get their mail at post office boxes, which in some cases can be <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/experts-worry-push-2020-mail-voting-leave-native/story?id=70411683">70 miles from their homes</a>. That’s difficult, and expensive, to do – and may involve violating the Navajo Nation’s <a href="https://www.ndoh.navajo-nsn.gov/Portals/0/PDF/PHE/NDOH%20Public%20Health%20Emergency%20Order%202020-021%20Dikos%20Ntsaaigii-19.pdf">COVID-19 public health emergency curfew orders</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355191/original/file-20200827-20-1sw6xxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A mother and daughter sit outside their home on the Navajo Nation reservation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355191/original/file-20200827-20-1sw6xxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355191/original/file-20200827-20-1sw6xxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355191/original/file-20200827-20-1sw6xxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355191/original/file-20200827-20-1sw6xxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355191/original/file-20200827-20-1sw6xxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355191/original/file-20200827-20-1sw6xxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355191/original/file-20200827-20-1sw6xxg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People who live in the Navajo Nation’s reservation live far from mail service, and often lack telephone and internet service.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakNavajoNation/80316ffea4f64337b34ca1a9c2c205b1/photo">AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Long-term effects of undercounts</h2>
<p>Census data is used to determine how many members of Congress a state should have and to draw boundaries for congressional and state legislative districts. If the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/us/politics/census-citizenship-question.html">census records too few people</a> in communities of color, those people will have <a href="https://2020census.gov/en/news-events/operational-adjustments-covid-19.html">fewer representatives</a> in government, and <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/how-changes-2020-census-timeline-will-impact-redistricting">less power to choose them</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, census data is used to allocate billions of dollars in public spending by states and the federal government. Communities that are larger than their official count registers will receive <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/5/12/21250766/census-2020-undercount-black-latino-asian">smaller amounts than they should</a> of taxpayer money that provides education, health care and transportation to their residents. </p>
<p>Communities that are home to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are particularly sensitive to these effects because these groups are numerically small. So any one person not counted represents a larger proportion of the community as a whole, and a larger share of money and representation deserved but not received.</p>
<p>If these errors are allowed to happen – and made worse by a shorter timeline – their effects on Americans will last an entire decade, until the 2030 Census is completed.</p>
<p><em>Want to learn more about the 2020 census? We have designed an email course, which will send five informative emails straight to your inbox for three weeks. <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/census-72">Sign up here to learn more about how the census affects your community</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145152/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aggie Yellow Horse does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The census will likely count fewer Black Americans, Indigenous peoples, Asian Americans and Americans of Hispanic or Latino origin than there actually are.Aggie Yellow Horse, Assistant Professor of Asian Pacific American Studies and Justice and Social Inquiry, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1405432020-06-17T03:07:16Z2020-06-17T03:07:16ZThink slavery in Australia was all in the past? Think again<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342056/original/file-20200616-23261-12kyic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the charged atmosphere of Black Lives Matter demonstrations, Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently made the mistake of stating there was <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-12/call-for-scott-morrison-visit-bundaberg-to-learn-about-slavery/12347686">no slavery in Australia</a>. Morrison later <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-12/pm-apologises-offence-caused-slavery-comments-clarifies-remarks/12348716">apologised</a> for causing offence. He clarified that his comments related specifically to the colony of New South Wales. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/was-there-slavery-in-australia-yes-it-shouldnt-even-be-up-for-debate-140544">Was there slavery in Australia? Yes. It shouldn't even be up for debate</a>
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<hr>
<p>The relevance of slavery to the experience of First Nations and other communities was quickly and forcefully addressed. Robust evidence demonstrated that, of course, <a href="https://theconversation.com/was-there-slavery-in-australia-yes-it-shouldnt-even-be-up-for-debate-140544">slavery did exist</a> in Australia. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.news.uwa.edu.au/2019120411755/research/uwa-researchers-awarded-122-million-federal-funding">Research at UWA</a> is exploring Australian links to historical slavery through the <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/">Legacies of British Slave-ownership (LBS)</a> database.</p>
<p>Academic Clinton Fernandes has <a href="https://publishing.monash.edu/books/ioca-9781925523799.html">revealed</a> the British Parliament granted compensation in the 1830s to former slave owners for the loss of their slaves (but not to those who had been enslaved). Some former slave owners used this compensation to settle in Australia. </p>
<p>It is hardly surprising, then, that First Nations peoples in Australia were forced into <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-stolen-wages-one-womans-quest-for-compensation-95676">indentured servitude</a> and had their <a href="https://www.shine.com.au/service/class-actions/stolen-wages-class-action">wages stolen</a>. </p>
<p>Another example of slavery was the practice of “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-17/blackbirding-australias-history-of-kidnapping-pacific-islanders/8860754">blackbirding</a>” Pacific Islander people for work on Australian sugar plantations. Today’s <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-12/call-for-scott-morrison-visit-bundaberg-to-learn-about-slavery/12347686">South Sea Islander </a> community in Queensland have asked the prime minister to familiarise himself with their experience and its legacies.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-hidden-history-of-slavery-the-government-divides-to-conquer-86140">Australia's hidden history of slavery: the government divides to conquer</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Slavery subsists</h2>
<p>Global efforts to confront “modern slavery” challenge understandings of slavery as a purely historical experience. Modern slavery is an umbrella term used to describe human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices. It includes bonded labour, forced marriage and forced labour. </p>
<p>Just like historical slavery, modern slavery is a multi-billion-dollar industry. An estimated <a href="https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings/global-findings/">40.3 million</a> men, women and children are subjected to modern slavery around the world.</p>
<p>In Australia, we can look to contemporary labour mobility schemes to see the continued <a href="https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/walk-free-foundation-launches-qualitative-research-on-select-forms-of-modern-slavery-in-the-pacific">vulnerability</a> of Pacific Islanders to modern slavery. Stories continue to emerge of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-11/pacific-island-scheme-wages-deducted-high-rent-inverell/12336278">worker exploitation</a> in Australia. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-australia-have-a-modern-slavery-act-79335">Should Australia have a Modern Slavery Act?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>About <a href="https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings/country-studies/australia/">15,000</a> people are subject to modern slavery in Australia, including sex trafficking, forced marriage and forced labour. Cases of forced labour predominantly occur in <a href="https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings/country-studies/australia/">industries such as</a> agriculture, construction, domestic work, meat processing, cleaning, hospitality and food services. Even more people are enslaved through the supply chains of Australian companies operating overseas.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2018A00153">Modern Slavery Act 2018</a> marks an important development. It requires large businesses and Commonwealth entities to report on risks of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains, and actions to address those risks.</p>
<p>The first reports under the act are expected to be published this year and will be available for public scrutiny. Unfortunately, there are no penalties for non-compliance. An <a href="https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/jasonwood/Pages/modern-slavery-expert-advisory-group-appointments.aspx">advisory group</a> established to support implementation of the act lacks civil society and survivor representation.</p>
<h2>Domination and exploitation.</h2>
<p>Racist ideologies reflected in current events find their roots in colonisation and slavery. The broader issue of the over-incarceration of Indigenous peoples in Australia is gaining renewed attention through the current protests. Indigenous Australians make up <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4517.0%7E2019%7EMain%20Features%7EAboriginal%20and%20Torres%20Strait%20Islander%20prisoner%20characteristics%20%7E13">28% of the Australian prison population</a>, meaning they are the <a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-qanda-are-indigenous-australians-the-most-incarcerated-people-on-earth-78528">most incarcerated people on Earth</a>. The high rate of Indigenous deaths in custody has also gained renewed attention.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-are-first-australians-the-most-imprisoned-people-on-earth-78528">FactCheck: are first Australians the most imprisoned people on Earth?</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Experiences of over-incarceration and slavery are distinct and important in their own right. Yet such experiences are linked in how they reflect ongoing limitations and violations of civil and citizenship rights for First Nations and other communities in Australia. </p>
<p>For example, the over-incarceration of First Nations peoples contributes to their political disenfranchisement, as Australian electoral law politically silences those in prison. </p>
<p>Similarly, Pacific Islanders and others subject to modern slavery in Australia are often kept silent for fear of losing work and residency rights. The marginalisation of their experiences implicitly authorises their continued exploitation. </p>
<p>The capacity of our democracy to function equitably for disadvantaged communities is compromised by their lack of equal representation or involvement in law and policy-making. </p>
<h2>Where to from here?</h2>
<p>It is evident the scourge of racism and slavery is not confined to the past. Nor is it an issue that only affects other countries. It is here, it is now, and it must be tackled. </p>
<p>Political and legislative responses to modern slavery are encouraging. But significant gaps remain in the promotion and protection of Indigenous rights. </p>
<p>This is why the Uluru <a href="https://ulurustatement.org/">Statement From The Heart</a> and its constitutional reform proposals are so important. The Uluru Statement calls for the constitutional protection and entrenchment of a Voice to Parliament and a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-10/makarrata-explainer-yolngu-word-more-than-synonym-for-treaty/8790452">Makarrata Commission</a> to supervise treaty-making processes and truth-telling initiatives. </p>
<p>The Voice to Parliament is in its design phase with Australian government and elected First Nation representatives. Now, more than ever, First Nations require a Voice to Parliament and for that voice to be heard, respected and protected. Its constitutional entrenchment would signal a momentous shift in Australia’s engagement with the justice demands of First Nations people.</p>
<p>Meaningful reconciliation is impossible while Indigenous rights and perspectives are oppressed. True progress calls for learning from the world’s oldest living cultures. Healing requires learning from the past and present.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140543/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona McGaughey is a member of the Law Council of Australia's Business and Human Rights Committee.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Maguire and Dani Linder do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Slavery in Australia is not an issue confined to the past. It needs urgent action, and a key step is to embrace the Uluru Statement from the Heart.Fiona McGaughey, Senior Lecturer in International Human Rights Law, The University of Western AustraliaAmy Maguire, Associate Professor in Human Rights and International Law, University of NewcastleDani Linder, Associate Lecturer in Law, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1325122020-03-04T11:58:30Z2020-03-04T11:58:30ZA simple way to promote HPV vaccination among Asian American women: Storytelling<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318129/original/file-20200302-18308-n5pkyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5000%2C3510&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rates of HPV screenings and vaccinations remain low for some subgroups of Asian American women.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/schoolgirl-getting-vaccinated-royalty-free-image/871552754?adppopup=true">Getty Images / Peter Dazeley</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders – what demographers call AAPIs – are the nation’s fastest-growing minority. Close to <a href="https://www.diversity.va.gov/programs/aapi.aspx">20 million</a> now live in the U.S. But you wouldn’t know it from our public health data, where AAPIs are underrepresented. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the data on cervical cancer screenings. </p>
<p>In the U.S., AAPI women have the lowest risk of cervical cancer. However, when separating cancer statistics by subgroups, it shows the incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer are <a href="http://www.aapcho.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Cancer-Facts-Asian-Americans-and-Cancer.pdf">two or three times higher</a> in Cambodian, Hmong, Korean, and Vietnamese women than in non-Hispanic white women. </p>
<p>At the same time, one subgroup, Korean American women, has the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.30391">lowest rates</a> of cervical cancer screening in the U.S. Breaking it down further, English-speaking, college-educated Korean American women have particularly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-019-00634-9">low awareness and knowledge</a> of HPV, the HPV vaccine and cervical cancer. </p>
<p>As a Korean immigrant, and a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Minjin_Kim2">transcultural nurse implementation scientist</a>, I want to expand awareness of the need for HPV education among AAPI women. <a href="https://ipvsoc.org/hpv-day/">International HPV Awareness Day</a>, March 4, is perhaps the perfect time to remind all women that the human papillomavirus can cause cancer and that cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination are the best ways to prevent those cancers. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318133/original/file-20200302-18287-ul199p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318133/original/file-20200302-18287-ul199p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=724&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318133/original/file-20200302-18287-ul199p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=724&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318133/original/file-20200302-18287-ul199p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=724&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318133/original/file-20200302-18287-ul199p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318133/original/file-20200302-18287-ul199p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318133/original/file-20200302-18287-ul199p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some subgroups of Asian American and Pacific Islander women are reluctant to get the HPV vaccine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/vaccination-royalty-free-image/184233413?adppopup=true">Getty Images / Peter Dazeley</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The cause of cervical cancer</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/infectious-agents/hpv-and-cancer">Nearly all cervical cancers</a> – over 99% – are caused by HPV infection. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/stdfact-hpv.htm">HPV is the most common sexually-transmitted infection</a> in the U.S. that
strikes both men and women, and the only STI that causes cancer, including cervical, oral, anal, vulvar and penile cancers.</p>
<p>Studies show HPV infection is more prevalent in men than women. But women are more likely to have persistent, high-risk HPV infection that may lead to cervical cancer, the <a href="https://www.cancer.org/latest-news/facts-and-figures-2020.html">second-leading cause of cancer death</a> among women ages 20 to 39. Currently, cervical cancer is the only HPV cancer with a recommended screening test to detect it an early stage. </p>
<p>After the introduction of the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/cervical/statistics/index.htm">Papanicolaou (Pap) test</a>, the incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer decreased significantly. But not all women are getting regular Pap tests, and not all cervical cancer rates are declining. Moreover, screening alone does not protect against all types of cervical cancer. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/parents/vaccine.html">HPV vaccination</a> provides the best protection against cervical and other HPV-associated cancers.</p>
<h2>Prevention is not always a priority</h2>
<p>Why do so many AAPI women know so little about HPV? </p>
<p>We set out to answer this question by interviewing Asian American ethnic groups and conducting surveys. </p>
<p>Our findings suggest their knowledge and attitudes toward HPV prevention <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-019-00634-9">are closely tied</a> to health beliefs and cultural or language barriers. What’s more, we discovered preventive health care is not a top priority for immigrant populations. In general, they seek treatment only <a href="https://doi.org/10.1188/17.CJON.E239-E247">when already sick</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2018.1514455%20%20DOI:%2010.1007/s10900-019-00634-9">Our studies</a> also suggest many of them are skeptical about participating in research.</p>
<p>One woman who participated <a href="https://doi.org/10.1188/17.CJON.E239-E247">in our study</a> said, “Guys don’t have a cervix, so I thought this vaccine is for women only.” But HPV is a sexually transmitted infection. Both men and women can have it, and the vaccine works for both sexes. One reason for the misunderstanding is that the HPV vaccine is often advertised as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1188/17.CJON.E239-E247">“cervical cancer vaccine.”</a> This occurs in the U.S. as well as in South Korea. </p>
<p>Some of the AAPI women told us their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1188/17.CJON.E239-E247">doctor did not recommend</a> the vaccine because Asian women are less prone to cervical cancer. This is not true; doctors saying this are not familiar with how the data might mask differences in AAPI subgroups. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-019-00634-9">Other women said</a> they were confused by medical terminology or the way the U.S. health care system worked – hardly a singular experience, no matter what your nationality or ethnicity. </p>
<p>Another problem is the sheer number of the subgroups of AAPI women. There are about 50, and among them, hundreds of languages and dialects, and with little or no accurate population-based data outlining their vaccination rates. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318132/original/file-20200302-18283-1lnjf0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318132/original/file-20200302-18283-1lnjf0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318132/original/file-20200302-18283-1lnjf0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318132/original/file-20200302-18283-1lnjf0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318132/original/file-20200302-18283-1lnjf0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318132/original/file-20200302-18283-1lnjf0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318132/original/file-20200302-18283-1lnjf0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A human papillomavirus infection. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection globally.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/human-papillomavirus-infection-virus-hpv-is-the-royalty-free-image/1060642876?adppopup=true">Getty Images / Naeblys</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Storytelling made a difference</h2>
<p>We discovered in our study that narrative storytelling – that is, mothers and their children sharing their experiences and having conversations about HPV vaccination – can increase HPV vaccination rates. </p>
<p>From that, we’ve developed what we call a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyz022">storytelling intervention</a> for young Korean American women using a “peer-paired” approach. Because the storytellers are about the same age as the participants, a meaningful conversation is more likely to occur. The women are less shy about sharing their personal experiences, feelings and fears. </p>
<p>In our study, three pairs of young Korean women told their stories about the HPV vaccination experience. They also discussed their cultural attitudes toward vaccines. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/14111">We also produced</a> an educational video that addressed common misconceptions about HPV, along with a research manual and a web-based interface where participants could watch storytelling video interviews.</p>
<p>A comparison group received basic written information about HPV, but it was non-narrative. In other words, dry facts and no storytelling.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198119894589">Our findings are conclusive</a>: The storytelling intervention group was twice as likely to schedule an appointment for the HPV vaccine than the comparison group. Simple storytelling – human-centered, interactive, culture-specific and group-tailored – led to positive health outcomes. </p>
<p>We are now expanding our research to include both men and women and other underserved or understudied populations. Our storytelling intervention strategy, which leverages today’s technologies, can now be replicated to reach diverse groups and promote health, and prevent cancers and other diseases. </p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132512/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Minjin Kim previously received funding from the American Cancer Society. </span></em></p>Researchers have found a way to encourage cervical cancer screenings and vaccinations in Korean American women. Might their findings also work in other underrepresented populations?Minjin Kim, Postdoctoral Research Associate, UMass Chan Medical SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1199862019-07-11T22:44:37Z2019-07-11T22:44:37ZCuban compassion: Training doctors for a Pacific island nation running out of time<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283573/original/file-20190710-44437-1dhlltg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4000%2C3000&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Boys play on a beach in Kiribati in 2014. Cuba is training doctors to tend to people on the Pacific island nation, struggling with disease amid the worsening effects of climate change. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Kiribati. </p>
<p>You may not know where it is.</p>
<p>Pronouncing it is tricky (Ker-a-bas). It’s a small republic of 114,000 people spread out over 32 atolls <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kiribati/@-2.9371656,152.059717,3z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x65647c91c2028703:0x84327d040152c307!8m2!3d-3.370417!4d-168.734039?hl=en-NZ&authuser=0">in the middle of the Pacific Ocean</a>, near the international date line and right on the equator. </p>
<p>Palm trees line the white sandy shores. Turquoise water laps the sand. But is it an ideal island oasis? Hardly.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-tarawa">The battle of Tarawa</a>, a horrific skirmish in the Second World War, took place on Kiribati. And now a climate change battle is crashing on its shores amid a <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/136905/ccsbrief_kir_en.pdf">crisis of tuberculosis, leprosy</a> and other damnations. </p>
<p>Most of Kiribati sits about two metres above sea level. <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/116/23/11195">Recent studies estimate</a> that sea levels will rise at least two metres before the year 2100. This gives Kiribati no more than 80 years. </p>
<p>Anote Tong, the former president of Kiribati, has said that for “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/10/24/kiribati/?utm_term=.16b212f3291c">Kiribati it is already too late</a>” and that the international community should consider how people can migrate with dignity. </p>
<p>In response, <a href="https://dfat.gov.au/geo/kiribati/development-assistance/Pages/development-assistance-in-kiribati.aspx">Australia</a> and <a href="https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa/about-visa/pacific-access-category-resident-visa">New Zealand</a> offer temporary escape, while Fiji sold 5,500 acres of its land to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/08/The-Island-Nation-That-Bought-a-Back-Up-Property/378617/">Kiribati for $8.77 million dollars</a>. If all I-Kiribati, as the nation’s people are known, occupied this land the population density would be about 5,300 people per square kilometre. <a href="https://emergency.unhcr.org/entry/45581/camp-planning-standards-planned-settlements">This violates the UNHCR’s minimum standards for refugee camps</a>. </p>
<p>But as others work to help the I-Kiribati flee, Cuba encourages them to stay. <a href="http://misiones.minrex.gob.cu/en/kiribati">Havana is training I-Kiribati physicians for free</a> with the condition that they will return to work in their home country. Why? </p>
<p>First, let’s take a look at what New Zealand and Australia are proposing for Kiribati and other Pacific island nations.</p>
<h2>Encouraging migration</h2>
<p>Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s prime minister, proposed a climate-change refugee visa program for Pacific island states, including Kiribati. But <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/106660148/humanitarian-visa-proposed-for-climate-change-refugees-dead-in-the-water">the New Zealand government scrapped the plan in August 2018</a> in response to concerns from Pacific island leaders about the self-determination of their peoples. New Zealand’s immigration minister, Iain Lees-Galloway, noted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Pacific peoples have expressed desire to continue to live in their own countries, and current work is primarily focused on mitigating the impacts of climate change.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What does that work look like?</p>
<p>New Zealand’s “<a href="https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/countries-and-regions/pacific/kiribati/our-development-cooperation-in-kiribati/">development co-operation</a>” with Kiribati includes building hospital facilities, increasing family-planning options, bolstering the fishing sector, improving doctor qualifications and facilitating labour mobility schemes to help I-Kiribati find employment offshore. </p>
<p>Australia’s development assistance initiatives for Kiribati involves moving low- or semi-skilled workers to Australian communities on temporary work visas to help with “seasonal labour shortages.”</p>
<p>If Pacific peoples want to stay on their islands, why do Australian and New Zealand aid programs have not-so-hidden agendas of moving people off of the atolls? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283572/original/file-20190710-44466-1gd94zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2464%2C1586&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283572/original/file-20190710-44466-1gd94zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283572/original/file-20190710-44466-1gd94zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283572/original/file-20190710-44466-1gd94zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283572/original/file-20190710-44466-1gd94zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283572/original/file-20190710-44466-1gd94zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283572/original/file-20190710-44466-1gd94zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kiribati is seen in an aerial view. Climate change will likely wipe out the entire Pacific archipelago, but its people want to remain for now.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Certainly it’s more than Washington’s USAID, and Ottawa’s Global Affairs Canada — the foreign development branches of two countries with enormous carbon footprints — are doing for Kiribati. Neither country is offering any assistance to Kiribati. </p>
<h2>Cuba training doctors</h2>
<p>Enter Cuba. The country is offering close to 40 medical scholarships to Kiribati, which will nearly double the country’s physician workforce, and all under the idea that they should remain on the atolls.</p>
<p>Beyond the climate tragedy, Kiribati faces compounding health calamities. Almost 700 cases of active tuberculosis were recorded in 2018, along with 155 new cases of leprosy. While these conditions are often treated at the hospital in Tarawa, there is little in place to prevent these maladies from occurring. </p>
<p>On top of this is a <a href="https://reliefweb.int/disaster/ep-2017-000184-wsm">dengue crisis</a>. <a href="https://www.unicef.org/pacificislands/04_Situation_Analysis_of_Children_Kiribati.pdf">Almost one in two children are stunted</a>, and <a href="https://www.who.int/diabetes/country-profiles/kir_en.pdf">one in four adults have Type 2 diabetes</a>. Both are the result of serious nutritional deficiencies. The lack of sanitation also makes the country’s <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/11/22/131507772/water-water-everywhere-and-not-a-drop-to-swim-in">lagoons toxic</a>, making rainwater the only drinking water.</p>
<p>With only 59 physicians in the country, more are needed. Kiribati’s treatment of tuberculosis and leprosy meets basic needs, but almost nothing is in place for physicians to actively work on disease prevention. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.wlupress.wlu.ca/Books/W/Where-No-Doctor-Has-Gone-Before2">Cuba’s medical education is well known</a> for building community-level routines of health promotion around the world. </p>
<h2>Aiming to improve health on Kiribati</h2>
<p>Compare Cuba’s plan — to build better health from within Kiribati itself — to temporary work permits and a refugee settlement on an overcrowded parcel of land.</p>
<p>It’s a bold statement to offer a program that encourages skilled professionals to remain in the eye of the storm. And yet it reaffirms the “desire to remain,” as Lees-Galloway mentioned.</p>
<p>It also echoes Tong’s claim that by the time that Kiribati disappears, “no one will be immune from the catastrophic consequences of climate change.”</p>
<p>Extreme climatic events will alter human existence. And as they do, the question remains: How well will we take care of each other? </p>
<p>Will donor nations engage in development co-operation to foster health and livelihoods for a nation of future climate change migrants? Or will it come down to a few temporary visas for low-skilled workers who would otherwise be pressed into a refugee camp? <a href="http://islandtimes.us/kiribati-internship-training-programme-holds-first-graduation/">Already, New Zealand has offered additional training and support to the I-Kiribiati</a> graduates from Cuba working in the Pacific. Such support is encouraging. </p>
<p>But Cuba, in particular, offers a compelling example of how we can take care of each other during the climate crisis, regardless of where we are on the planet. </p>
<p>Kiribati is the first land to run out of time. Where will be next? And how will we take care of each other?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119986/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Huish receives funding from the Social Science & Humanities Research Council in Canada, and the Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fund.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sharon McLennan receives funding from the Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fund</span></em></p>Cuba is offering a compelling example of how we can take care of each other during the climate crisis with its work training doctors on Kiribati, a nation that is being devastated by climate change.Robert Huish, Associate Professor in International Development Studies, Dalhousie UniversitySharon McLennan, Lecturer in International Development, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1162772019-05-26T19:31:30Z2019-05-26T19:31:30ZThe forgotten people in Australia’s regional settlement policy are Pacific Islander residents<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276242/original/file-20190523-187182-wwdab4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tongans gathered in the Sunraysia centre of Mildura to celebrate the Tongan team's victory over Lebanon in the Rugby League World Cup in November 2017.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Established migrant communities in regional and rural areas are often ignored in favour of policies focused on attracting new intakes of skilled migrants. A striking example is the <a href="http://www.devpolicy.org/pacific-farmworkers-in-australia-20180206/">substantial population of Pacific Islanders in horticultural areas in Australia</a>. </p>
<p>They are largely unacknowledged or even invisible to policymakers in Canberra. Their working-age children now struggle to move beyond the seasonal, precarious horticultural work their parents do. Appropriate supports could help them increase their skills and make a valuable contribution to the rural economy.</p>
<p>Since the mid-1990s, the Australian government has tried to tackle problems on two fronts – congestion in urban areas, and population decline and associated labour shortages in rural areas – through diverse migration schemes. </p>
<p>In March this year the Morrison government launched a <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/plan-australias-future-population">plan for Australia’s future population</a>. It emphasised skilled migration as a means of “ensuring regional communities are given a much-needed boost”. The plan includes new regional visas for skilled workers and scholarships for domestic and international students to study in regional tertiary institutions. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/settling-migrants-in-regional-areas-will-need-more-than-a-visa-to-succeed-114196">Settling migrants in regional areas will need more than a visa to succeed</a>
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<h2>A neglected community</h2>
<p>The rhetoric around settling people in regional areas tends to neglect the untapped potential of migrant populations that already live there. <a href="https://www.latrobe.edu.au/social-inquiry/research/current-research-projects/pacific-islanders-in-regional-victoria-visitors-migrants-and-overstayers">Our research in the Sunraysia region</a> shows Pacific people have been largely trapped in seasonal farm work since they began moving there in the 1980s. </p>
<p>The government’s lack of acknowledgement of these established communities was evident in its planning and introduction of the <a href="https://www.jobs.gov.au/seasonal-worker-programme">Seasonal Worker Program</a>. Their potential to provide pastoral care for temporary workers from the Pacific islands was neglected. In both the <a href="https://docs.jobs.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/pswps_-_final_evaluation_report.pdf">2011 final evaluation of the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme</a> and the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/%7E/media/02%20Parliamentary%20Business/24%20Committees/244%20Joint%20Committees/Migration/Seasonal%20Worker%20Program/Report/Full%20report.pdf?la=en">2016 report of the parliamentary inquiry into the Seasonal Worker Program</a> this is seen as the responsibility of approved employers. </p>
<p>However, such “official” pastoral care is insufficient. We have found settled communities are supporting workers in getting health care and often provide them with food and other supplies.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276259/original/file-20190524-187179-1vjwm30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276259/original/file-20190524-187179-1vjwm30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276259/original/file-20190524-187179-1vjwm30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276259/original/file-20190524-187179-1vjwm30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276259/original/file-20190524-187179-1vjwm30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276259/original/file-20190524-187179-1vjwm30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276259/original/file-20190524-187179-1vjwm30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276259/original/file-20190524-187179-1vjwm30.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pacific people are active members of churches in regional Victoria and provide pastoral care to members of their community.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But the government has seen the settlers in negative terms, as potentially encouraging Pacific people employed through the Seasonal Worker Program to overstay their visas. This claim was made, for instance, in a 2016 call for expressions of interest in research for the <a href="https://www.cardno.com/projects/labour-mobility-assistance-program-lmap/">Labour Mobility Assistance Program</a>. </p>
<p>Rather than relying only on bringing in new waves of skilled migrants, <a href="https://theconversation.com/forcing-immigrants-to-work-in-regional-areas-will-not-boost-regional-economies-in-the-long-run-96852">most of whom stay for the required period then move to the cities</a>, why not focus on resolving structural problems and increasing the skills of those who already live there? This would mean tackling the barriers the local Pacific populations face, including their relative invisibility in regional communities.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/forcing-immigrants-to-work-in-regional-areas-will-not-boost-regional-economies-in-the-long-run-96852">Forcing immigrants to work in regional areas will not boost regional economies in the long run</a>
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<p>In regional Australia, social services are directed mainly to new migrant and refugee arrivals, as well as Indigenous Australians. Some of our Pacific research participants said their communities’ needs remain largely unmet. A Tongan community leader we interviewed in Mildura raised two questions that prevent Pacific people from accessing support in Sunraysia: “Are you a refugee? Are you an Indigenous [person]?”</p>
<p>A high school principal echoed this point. She knew who to contact when she needed support for Koorie students or students from a “Muslim background”, but eligibility criteria often excluded Pacific youth from these services. </p>
<p>Many Pacific young people in Sunraysia express a strong desire to remain in their home towns, yet feel they face significant barriers to entering the workforce. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276256/original/file-20190524-187189-nv8hmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276256/original/file-20190524-187189-nv8hmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276256/original/file-20190524-187189-nv8hmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276256/original/file-20190524-187189-nv8hmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276256/original/file-20190524-187189-nv8hmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276256/original/file-20190524-187189-nv8hmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276256/original/file-20190524-187189-nv8hmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/276256/original/file-20190524-187189-nv8hmg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pacific youth in Sunraysia who attended our workshop in 2017 brainstormed the advantages and disadvantages of living in regional and urban areas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Their teachers confirm that Pacific youth are less likely to be considered for apprenticeships. They need targeted programs to ensure they get skills training that will broaden their employment opportunities.</p>
<p>Yet their <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-14/an-pacific-islanders-missing-out-on-tertiary-education2c-study/5453382">rates of participation in TAFE and university are low</a>. This is partly due to their lack of knowledge about their options. </p>
<p>In a workshop with teachers they also told us some Pacific students come to high school with insufficient literacy and numeracy skills. Early support could have overcome this problem.</p>
<h2>The problems are structural</h2>
<p>Much of the debate about employment relies on the idea of individual empowerment, which assumes academic achievement leads to skilled work. However, <a href="https://theconversation.com/youth-unemployment-local-communities-essential-for-helping-young-people-find-work-56673">David Farrugia argues</a> that youth unemployment rates will not decline without overcoming structural problems in regional Australia. </p>
<hr>
<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/youth-unemployment-local-communities-essential-for-helping-young-people-find-work-56673">Youth unemployment: local communities essential for helping young people find work</a>
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<p>An example of these problems in Sunraysia is that some local industries that give workers stable hourly rates <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/apr/02/pacific-workers-not-backpackers-should-do-australias-regional-work-world-bank">prefer to employ working holidaymakers or backpackers</a>. This leads migrants and second-generation youth to work in more precarious piece-rate farm jobs. The local advocacy body for employing settled workers told us the preference for working holidaymakers is linked to their connections with other industries such as accommodation providers that benefit from this transient population.</p>
<p>Despite being born and raised locally, and in many cases being Australian citizens, Pacific youth experience significant discrimination and marginalisation. Like their parents’ generation they are <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio-australia/programs/pacificbeat/pacific-islanders-in-rural-australia-struggling-to/8693102">stigmatised as “fruit pickers”</a>. </p>
<p>Many of them come to see farm work as the only option if they stay in the area. And even that is becoming increasingly precarious because they have to compete with temporary workers, such as those in the Seasonal Worker Program, working holidaymakers and irregular migrants.</p>
<p>Enabling the full participation of Pacific youth in more stable and skilled employment would contribute to the regional economy and improve social cohesion. But the policy focus is still on how to bring in new migrants. Population planning needs to have a long-term perspective and for regional areas a focus on the needs of the well-established migrant populations is crucial.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Dean Wickham, executive officer of <a href="http://www.smeccinc.org">Sunraysia Mallee Ethnic Communities Council</a>, contributed to our research project and writing this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116277/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Lee receives funding from the Australian Research Council (Linkage Project) and La Trobe University Research Focus Area (Transforming Human Societies). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Makiko Nishitani does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A greater focus on the well-established migrant populations and second-generation youth is crucial when planning for the social and economic well-being of rural and regional areas.Makiko Nishitani, Lecturer, La Trobe UniversityHelen Lee, Professor of Anthropology, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.