Richard Curtain

Jan 21, 2025 | thenational.com.pg | Richard Curtain

THE trend in Australian employer demand for seasonal workers – officially short-term Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (ST Palm) workers – from the Pacific and Timor-Leste continues to fall. Based on the latest Palm scheme monthly data, seasonal worker numbers in Australia fell by 26 per cent between June 2023 and November 2024 (Figure 1). If ST Palm workers in agriculture alone are considered, the fall is from 19,370 in June 2023 to 14,015 in November 2024, a drop of 28 per cent.

Jan 16, 2025 | theaustraliatoday.com.au | Richard Curtain

By Richard Curtain The trend in Australian employer demand for seasonal workers — officially short-term Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (ST PALM) workers — from the Pacific and Timor-Leste continues to fall. Based on the latest PALM scheme monthly data, seasonal worker numbers in Australia fell by 26% between June 2023 and November 2024 (Figure 1). If ST PALM workers in agriculture alone are considered, the fall is from 19,370 in June 2023 to 14,015 in November 2024, a drop of 28%.

Jan 15, 2025 | devpolicy.org | Richard Curtain

The trend in Australian employer demand for seasonal workers — officially short-term Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (ST PALM) workers — from the Pacific and Timor-Leste continues to fall. Based on the latest PALM scheme monthly data, seasonal worker numbers in Australia fell by 26% between June 2023 and November 2024 (Figure 1). If ST PALM workers in agriculture alone are considered, the fall is from 19,370 in June 2023 to 14,015 in November 2024, a drop of 28%.

Jul 28, 2024 | samoaobserver.ws | Richard Curtain |Stephen Howes |Victoria Cooper |Maholopa Laveil

Child marriage is a global problem that cuts across countries, cultures, and religions – and the ASEAN region is no exception. Child marriage is considered a form of forced marriage as children cannot consent. Girls are the primary, but not exclusive, target and the numbers are high. For example, 11% of women in Vietnam (majority being ethnic Mong women), 33% of Laos females and an estimated 1.2 million females aged 20 to 24 in Indonesia, marry before the age of 18.

Jul 23, 2024 | dailypost.vu | Richard Curtain |Stephen Howes

The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme has been transformed over the last five years. In June 2019, there were 5,886 PALM visa holders in Australia. Five years later, in May 2024, there were 32,513, an increase of 450%. There are several factors behind this rapid growth, perhaps most importantly the preference given to PALM workers during COVID and the expansion of PALM from only seasonal to multi-year work.