Christina Marau, Director for Labour Mobility at the Solomon Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, provides an insider's perspective on how Pacific labour mobility schemes operate in practice. Drawing on her experience managing a system that handles thousands of applications and maintains a database of 6,500 work-ready candidates, Marau explains how Solomon Islands has become one of the most successful participants in Australia's Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme and New Zealand's Recognised Seasonal Employer program. She discusses the economic imperative driving participation — with remittances reaching $475 million SBD in 2024 — while addressing practical challenges from managing worker expectations to preventing absconding. Marau then shares her vision for expanding labour mobility opportunities throughout the Pacific region.
Christina Marau, Director for Labour Mobility at the Solomon Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, provides an insider's perspective on how Pacific labour mobility schemes operate in practice. Drawing on her experience managing a system that handles thousands of applications and maintains a database of 6,500 work-ready candidates, Marau explains how Solomon Islands has become one of the most successful participants in Australia's Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme and New Zealand's Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) program. She discusses the economic imperative driving participation — with remittances reaching $475 million SBD in 2024 — while addressing practical challenges from managing worker expectations to preventing absconding. Marau then shares her vision for expanding labour mobility opportunities throughout the Pacific region.
The episode opens with Marau explaining why labour mobility has become a national priority for Solomon Islands. With a minimum wage of just $8 SBD (approximately A$1.60) and the government struggling to create sufficient employment for trained youth, the opportunity to work in Australia and New Zealand at vastly higher wages represents a transformative economic opportunity. This economic imperative drives remarkable participation rates — when Solomon Islands opened recruitment for just two weeks in 2023, it received 12,000 applications, eventually registering 8,000 into its "work-ready pool" database that now holds 6,500 candidates.
Marau outlines how Solomon Islands has developed one of the most systematic approaches to labour mobility in the Pacific. Unlike countries relying on agents or direct recruitment, Solomon Islands uses a centralised government-managed system supported by Australian government funding through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This includes face-to-face interviews, biometric data collection and careful screening — a labour-intensive process that took two years to complete for the 2023 cohort but ensures transparency and maintains the country's strong reputation with employers. The system has evolved since Solomon Islands joined Australia's seasonal worker program in 2012 and New Zealand's RSE in 2008, with particular growth during COVID when the country's lack of community transmission allowed continued worker mobilisation.
Economic impact emerges as a central theme, with remittances reaching $475 million SBD in 2024. However, Marau expresses concern about avoiding a "remittance trap", noting that returning workers tend to invest in basic ventures like transport services rather than larger businesses due to limited financial management skills and a challenging business environment. Other persistent challenges include low female participation at just 14% across programs, managing the tension between international opportunities and domestic labour needs, and preventing worker absconding which threatens Solomon Islands' reputation.
The conversation reveals how Solomon Islands navigates the complex governance of these schemes. While supporting the single-employer model in Australia's PALM scheme for long-term placements, Marau sees merit in New Zealand's more flexible joint ATR [Agreement to Recruit] system for seasonal work. She describes engaging with Australian and New Zealand governments through multiple channels — from day-to-day dialogue with DFAT posts to formal processes like the Pacific Labour Mobility Annual Meeting that Solomon Islands will host in November 2025. Policy changes require patience as proposals work through multiple bureaucratic levels.
Looking forward, Marau discusses an ambitious growth target of 16,000 workers by 2028 and emerging opportunities beyond traditional markets. Solomon Islands has pioneered an intra-Pacific labour mobility pilot with Niue and sees potential for formal arrangements with other Pacific nations where workers already go informally. She emphasises the importance of maintaining program integrity through careful pre-departure briefings and support systems while acknowledging ongoing challenges like helping workers access Australian superannuation and creating pathways for skills gained abroad to benefit the domestic economy.
The episode concludes with Marau's reflections on research and evidence-building, advocating for locally engaged research that provides essential context for policy decisions. Her team of 20 staff (split between the labour mobility unit and DFAT-funded support program) represents a significant investment in managing these transformative but complex schemes that she describes as providing opportunities that are literally changing lives across Solomon Islands.
Please note: We provide transcripts for information purposes only. Anyone accessing our transcripts undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of the content. Before using the material contained in a transcript, the permission of the relevant presenter should be obtained.
Opening [Christina Marau]: Labour mobility programs provide an opportunity for average Solomon Islanders to travel to Australia and New Zealand to earn income and support families back at home. Our government is currently having a challenge of creating job opportunities for our trained youth. So that's why the labour mobility program is a priority for the government at the moment.
Acknowledgement: We wish to acknowledge the indigenous people of Australia, the wider Asia-Pacific region and other parts of the world and express our respect for their traditional knowledge and practices, which stem from a deep connection to the lands and waters they have inhabited for millennia.
Robin Davies: Welcome to Devpolicy Talks, the podcast of the Development Policy Centre. We're part of the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country in Canberra.
I'm Robin Davies.
This is our 12th season, and we're bringing you a mix of interviews, event recordings and in-depth features on topics central to our research: Australia's overseas aid, development in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, and other regional and global development issues.
This episode explores one of the most significant economic opportunities for Pacific island nations: labour mobility schemes. My guest today is Christina Marau, who brings a frontline perspective from Solomon Islands. Christina serves as the Director for Labour Mobility at the Solomon Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, a position she's held since 2023. Her work on labour mobility began in 2019 when she joined the ministry as a research officer, giving her both ground-level and strategic perspectives on how these schemes operate.
With a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of the South Pacific, Christina oversees all aspects of Solomon Islands' participation in Australia's Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme and New Zealand's Recognised Seasonal Employer program — PALM and RSE, respectively. You'll also hear the acronym PEV, which refers to Australia's new Pacific Engagement Visa.
Under Christina's leadership, the labour mobility unit manages a complex system that has seen remarkable growth, from handling 12,000 applications in a single recruitment drive to maintaining a database of 6,500 work-ready candidates. Christina's team facilitates opportunities that are transforming lives.
I interviewed Christina in Suva at the Pacific Update conference last month and will begin with an edited version of her conference presentation before getting into a deeper conversation about the operational realities and policy implications of these schemes.
Here's Christina's presentation.
Christina's 2025 Pacific Update Presentation
Christina Marau: Thank you. Labour mobility programs provide an opportunity for average Solomon Islanders to travel to Australia and New Zealand to earn income and support families back at home. With the current minimum wage in Solomon Islands — that is $8 SBD, that's the currency code for Solomon Islands dollars — workers are earning income to remit back home and improve their standard of living and support their families.
In the context of Solomon Islands, we have excess trained youth and also skilled workers who are going on labour mobility just because the country is having a challenge with employing workers. Our government is currently having a challenge of creating job opportunities for our trained youth. So that's why labour mobility program is a priority for the government at the moment.
So, in 2023, we had an open recruitment drive for two weeks, and we received a total of 12,000 applicants. We've screened those applicants, and we were able to register 8,000 applicants into the work-ready pool. So currently we have 6,500 workers who are queuing up in the work-ready pool, waiting for labour mobility opportunities in Solomon Islands.
In terms of economic development, for last year, our central bank recorded a total of $475 million SBD. This is just remittance from our seasonal workers. This is a big increase from 2021.
So, for the PALM scheme, Solomon Islands participated in 2012. Back then it was called the SWP, the Seasonal Worker Program, for the short term, and for the long term it was called the PLS, the Pacific Labour Scheme. In 2019 we joined the PLS, and then this opened up pathways for meat work, aged care, tourism and fisheries. During the COVID period, we mobilised mainly our males for the meat work sector. Our numbers increased during the COVID period because we were advantaged — Solomon Islands didn't have the COVID community transmission compared to other Pacific Island sending countries. So, we were able to mobilise our workers on chartered flights to Australia.
In terms of the PALM scheme program management, Solomon Islands has a special funded program under DFAT, which is called the Solomon Islands Support Services. We have 10 staff under that support program, and we have 10 PLMSP support staff at the moment. So, all policy decisions and approvals are given through the labour mobility unit, but the support and the administrative part of the program, PALM scheme, has been done through the support program.
I think one of the key improvements with our processes and management of the program is the in-country recruitment database, which we are currently using at the moment. It's very efficient in terms of how we manage the PALM program. This includes responding to the public, facilitating recruitment, and even getting all our data in terms of reporting. Because labour mobility in terms of data, we find it a bit challenging, but with this system, we were able to readily provide information about the labour mobility programs to our government upon request.
With the support program as well, they supported the government to host in-country recruitment, where we encourage our employers to fly in, and then we supported them in terms of their recruitment. So, this is a way we encourage all our new employers, and also our ongoing employers, to come in to actually see what is happening on the ground and also acknowledging the key challenges of dealing with workers when we do recruitment.
For the RSE program with New Zealand, Solomon Islands participated since 2008, and we formally signed the inter-agency understanding in 2010. For the RSE program as well, it's a demand-driven program, but for the RSE program, most of the employers request retaining workers, because a lot of the RSE program is only for seven months assignments. So, they were able to only request retaining workers, but only few new ones.
For the RSE program, given the flexibility of the program, the joint ATR [Agreement to Recruit] arrangement is good for our workers, because within that seven months period, our workers can transfer to two to three employers to earn money, and then they can come back after seven months. So, with the RSE program, the RSE is facilitated through the agent model and direct recruitment by employers. So, for the RSE, we don't use the work-ready pool. We use it sometimes upon request, when employers request, but it's mostly facilitated through approved employers and direct recruitment.
In terms of the intra-Pacific labour mobility pilot, I think through the support with PACER Plus Implementation Unit — that's a unit based in Samoa, which supports the implementation of the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations, it's funded by Australia and New Zealand — they have facilitated the negotiation. And last year, in July, Solomon Islands government and Niue have signed an IAU [Inter-Agency Understanding] for a pilot for the intra-Pacific labour mobility. This is the first intra-Pacific labour mobility pilot that is managed bilaterally within the Pacific. So currently we have three nurses, retired nurses, working in Niue, who will be finishing off in June.
In terms of strategy for growth within the PALM scheme, I think the strategy we use is promotion. In terms of promotion, the "Here to Work" brand is something that we really focus on. Our reputation is good at the moment with our employers through the PALM scheme. So, for Solomon Islands, we want to maintain this reputation to keep increasing our numbers. In terms of our recruitment process, integrity is our priority, and we make sure our process is trusted with all employers that want to recruit from Solomon Islands. The other strategy that we also use is being responsive, and with the support through the DFAT program, we were able to meet a lot of our demands from our employers.
For the future outlook for labour mobility in Solomon Islands, we want to maintain a good reputation to increase our numbers. We are also looking at prioritising training as well. We have aged care training in country as well. And then we are also looking at initiatives to increase our women's participation. So, thanks to DFAT, we also have driving school for females. And in addition, for training, we are also in progress to implement forklift training for females and a few males.
We are also looking into sector alignment initiatives. Currently, our cocoa industry is struggling at the moment with workers to work in farms. So, this is something we'll be working closely with PACER Plus and PLMSP to help us implement a project on this specific industry. This involves looking at retaining workers, and also initiatives for worker investments. We're also encouraging local savings as well. We are trying to get our local superannuation organisation to get workers to register prior to them going, and then while they are in Australia or New Zealand, there's an option for them to save directly into our local savings.
Another priority for Solomon Islands, as well as forward looking, is we will be looking at other regional markets for labour mobility programs. I think for this one, we have heard some of our nurses are going to Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, and our construction workers are going to Nauru, but these are not properly managed through bilateral arrangements. So, we will be going into bilateral discussions so that we properly manage these movements of our workers to these regional countries.
Just in terms of challenges, absconding remains one of the challenges for Solomon Islands, because our reputation is very important in growing our numbers. So, the more absconders we have, then it will ruin our reputation in the labour mobility space. So, absconding remains one of our key challenges.
Skills alignment to domestic needs is also one of the challenges for us. There is no proper assessment to identify the types of skills, super skills, and the skills gaps for our private sector, because at the moment, there's an assumption that a lot of our skilled workers from the private sector are losing their skilled workers to go on labour mobility, but there hasn't been any proper assessment to actually have evidence on this perspective.
Labour mobility being a demand-driven program is also a challenge. We want to balance women's participation to men, but when we receive recruitment plans or demands, specific industries have specific criteria, so this becomes a challenge for us labour sending countries. But we are promoting women to also have fair opportunity with the PALM scheme and the RSE program.
Just on PEV, I think for Solomon Islands, we are still new to this visa pathway, and we foresee only minor impact to the brain drain concept, given the suited eligibility criteria would be those who are skilled and have the opportunity to explore new opportunities in Australia. So that is how we see the PEV.
I think just to end, this [photo] is just to show appreciation to my team back in Honiara, Solomon Islands. So, this is the labour sending unit team and support program. That concludes my presentation. Thank you.
Interview with Christina Marau
Robin Davies: And now here's my interview with Christina.
Christina Marau: So, thank you for the opportunity. My name is Christina Marau, and I'm the Director for the Labour Mobility Unit in Solomon Islands.
Robin Davies: So right now, how many workers would you have in Australia and New Zealand combined?
Christina Marau: So, we have cumulative numbers for those ones that have participated in the program since it started, and also those ones who are currently in Australia and New Zealand at the moment. Because of the PALM scheme, people go and then they come back. So current workers in Australia at the moment is around 5,000 workers, and in New Zealand, because it's a seven-month program, the number of people currently in New Zealand at the moment is only around 700 people in New Zealand. But since the beginning of 2008, people are going and coming back. So those are the numbers that are currently in Australia and New Zealand.
Robin Davies: So, does the Solomon Islands government have a clear strategy for increasing the number of participants in the temporary migration schemes?
Christina Marau: Yes, we have a new labour mobility policy, which is still under review at the moment, still yet to be endorsed by the cabinet. So, we have a target of 16,000 by 2028. This is mainly for the traditional labour sending labour receiving markets that we currently send our workers to. That is for New Zealand, Australia and intra-Pacific labour mobility schemes.
Robin Davies: And in what fields are your workers operating? Is it mostly agriculture, or is it across all of the eligible areas?
Christina Marau: So, we mobilise our workers for PALM scheme only through the sectors that are open for countries to send workers to. So, our workers mainly go to the meat work industry, aged care and agriculture and horticulture for PALM scheme, and for the RSE it's only open for horticulture and agriculture. So those are the two sectors that we're currently sending our workers to.
Robin Davies: And what's the gender balance in the workforce?
Christina Marau: So, gender balance, I think for overall both programs, for women participation, it's only 14% across both programs. It's very low compared to men's participation.
Robin Davies: And I think the Solomons is not part of the new family accompaniment pilot at this stage. Is that something you would like to see happen in the future?
Christina Marau: Yes, we would also be interested to be part of the family accompaniment, and also the early childhood care for PALM scheme. That is something that we are also interested to be part of.
Robin Davies: Now I do want to ask about how the process works, what the supply chain looks like, starting at selection and then going right through the process back to reintegration. So perhaps first, what sort of model do you use in the Solomon Islands for selecting workers? Is it relatively centralised compared to some other Pacific Island countries?
Christina Marau: Yes. So, for the PALM scheme, we use the ICRD, the in-country recruitment database, which uses the work-ready pool, and the RSE uses agent model and direct recruitment.
Robin Davies: And can you just explain the concept of the work-ready pool?
Christina Marau: Yes. So, for the work-ready pool, we usually advertise to the public a window of time for expression of interest from the public to apply. And we set the criteria and the eligibility for interested applicants to apply. So, we put out information prior to the window of time for the opening, and then people can apply through the work ready pool. So, we have a criteria. You have to have a valid passport. You have to be between the ages of 21 to 50, good health, character, no police records, and then people apply.
Given the popularity of the programs, in 2023 when we opened the recruitment for two weeks, we received 12,000 applicants. So, they applied, and then we screened them, and we shortlisted, and 8,000 were able to meet the criteria. And then we process them, we screen them, so they came through, and then we interview, we do recruitment screening, where we take their personal details, their heights, their weights, their photos, and then we develop a worker profile, and then we put them into the database. That's the work-ready pool.
Robin Davies: So that sounds very labour intensive, particularly the interview component. Does that make it harder for people from the outer islands to participate in the scheme? Or do you actually go to other provinces outside Honiara?
Christina Marau: Yes. So, we have underrepresented provinces on the program as well. We have three underrepresented provinces. So, for those three, after the two weeks when we had the online application, we went out, our team went out to the provinces, the three provinces, and then they were able to submit their application in hard copy. It's the process. It took us two years to actually screen the applicants, the total applicants, because you're talking about resources, human resource, casuals and time consuming as well for the team. So, we were able to process everybody, register them within two years.
Robin Davies: So how often will you repeat that process?
Christina Marau: Unless many of them, we push out of the work-ready pool, or we are able to mobilise them, then we can be able to open up a new one. The public are asking for us to open, but the challenge for us, Solomon Islands, is the main thing for the team is to manage expectations, and we don't want to open up and then public keep pressuring us: "When are we going to travel to Australia or New Zealand?" We're just looking at the trends of demands coming in, and that's the strategy that we're using.
Robin Davies: So roughly how many people are in the work-ready pool at the moment?
Christina Marau: So currently we have 6,500 that are now waiting in the work-ready pool, and we are expecting, because a lot of the long-term workers that went on the program in 2019, 2020, when our numbers quickly grew, they will be coming back, and the employers will be requesting them back to go on the program.
Robin Davies: So, in effect the people who are already in Australia and New Zealand are also in the pool?
Christina Marau: Yes, yes. So, for the New Zealand program, we use direct recruitment and agent model, where we've seen from past years and up until now, employers are wanting retaining workers, and not new ones, just small portion of new ones, but most of them that are going on the RSE program, they are retaining workers.
Robin Davies: So, in future, do you think you will continue the work-ready pool model, or will you shift to an agent-based model, or direct recruitment?
Christina Marau: I don't foresee us using that agent in the direct recruitment model, because given the limited capacity of resources that we have in country, the work-ready pool is much more efficient. And in terms of transparency, efficiency and record keeping, I think we'll probably still be using the work-ready pool model, because everything is there in a system and it's recorded, so there's no — the intake. The system really helps Solomon Islands in terms of managing the integrity of the labour mobility program. So, I see the work-ready pool is more a reliable model and effective model for us to increase our numbers.
Robin Davies: All right, so you've got this very large pool of potential workers. If an Australian or a New Zealand employer wants to access this pool, how do they go about that?
Christina Marau: So, with the PALM scheme program, if employers are interested to recruit from Solomon Islands, they will first approach us, and then they will submit a recruitment plan through the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations — DEWR — and then they will send their recruitment plan. And before it gets approved in Australia, the recruitment plans come through the work-ready pool system. And then we approve it, given we need to see that the team will be able to facilitate that recruitment and that big number. And then we give the approval, and once the final approval comes through, then employers will send their email, their specifications to our staff, and then we'll send the profiles selecting from the work-ready pool, and then we give the profiles to the employers to do the selection.
Robin Davies: And at this point, are you doing any due diligence on those employers to make sure that they have a good track record, or is that really something that is the responsibility of the Australian Government?
Christina Marau: It's the responsibility of the Australian Government. But if we have employers that we have previous experience with that particular employer, then we have the capability to deny that recruitment plan.
Robin Davies: Okay, all right. So, after you have matched some workers with an employer, what's the preparatory work that you do to ensure that they understand their contracts and their rights and that they're ready to — you know, perhaps they've not been to Australia before. So, what sort of preparatory support do you provide?
Christina Marau: So, once they got selected, then the workers, we push them through to go through and do the medical for their visa application and submit the police clearance. And then once everything gets cleared, then they come in and fill in forms for visa. And then our employers, they send through the copy of the contract. And then our staff go through with them, one on one, face to face, to explain and make sure that they understand the contract. And then once the contracts get signed, it went back to the employers with all the required documents that they require, and then they apply for their visa. And then, once the visa gets approved, then our team will be notified, and then they will go through a pre-departure briefing session. We usually hold a two-day session where we have a standard model of everything that the worker requires to be prepared to travel to Australia.
Robin Davies: And is the process much the same for the Australian long-term PALM scheme as it is for the shorter-term scheme?
Christina Marau: Yes, correct.
Robin Davies: So, when that's done and the worker is with their employer in Australia, is there any ongoing contact or monitoring that takes place between your unit and the workers?
Christina Marau: Yes, so we have two country liaison officers that are currently based in Brisbane and Melbourne. For ongoing monitoring and communication with our workers is a challenge for the team, given that these workers are dispersed all throughout the states in Australia and very regional areas as well. But through the program, they have site managers and team leaders who are appointed. So, these were the support mechanisms that were in place. But when critical incidents happen, they inform us, and that's where we get direct contact with the workers. But for ongoing monitoring and communication with the workers is something that is a big challenge for the team at the moment.
Robin Davies: You refer to critical incidents, and of course, for all Pacific Island countries, there's a certain percentage of cases where things go wrong. What, speaking broadly, what has your experience been? Is it a small minority where there are problems, or is it a larger proportion?
Christina Marau: I think just a small minority. I think all of the incidents that we receive, it's alcohol related. So, most of them, and sometimes we get reports for absenteeism and people not turning up to work, and then they got terminated. So, these are some of the thematic issues that are coming up.
Robin Davies: I'm really interested in your perspective on the discrepancy between media reporting on these schemes and academic research. A lot of the media reporting really highlights those sort of incidents that you talked about or — and often it will highlight employer — well, poor employer practice, you know, excessive wage deductions or a range of other things. So, I think a lot of people reading about these labour mobility schemes in Australia and New Zealand think that there's a lot of problems in the schemes. On the other hand, a lot of the research, and we've heard some of that here in Suva at the Pacific Update, a lot of the research undertaken by the World Bank and individual academics tells a pretty good story, that most participants in these schemes are satisfied with the experience, and that the wages, the remittances, the experiences, are pretty positive. Now someone who's actually run the scheme directly for the Solomon Islands, where do you stand on that spectrum?
Christina Marau: So, during pre-departure briefings, we usually encourage the workers to be self-agencies, and we also explain to them the escalation charts in Australia. If you have an issue, then you have to — if it's a level one, then you have to go to this person. It's level two, and then it goes up. So, we encourage our workers to be self-agencies and always speak up when they see there is an issue in the program. A lot of the issues that were coming up is just because of our workers. They compare with other workers in other sectors or the short term, they compare with the long-term workers, and they complain. And this usually when we investigate, then we found out these are just misinformation around their pay slips and the hours and also the deductions. Those are some of the miscommunication that the workers are having, and then they complain. But with the media, from my perspective, this generalisation with all the employers in the PALM program and even the RSE — the media that is coming out is not specific to those ones that are not following the rules. So, these are just general assumption where the media is trying to put a negative story to the PALM scheme and the RSE program. But for Solomon Islands, we see this as a very important program for an average Solomon Islander, because currently in Solomon Islands, the minimum wage is $8 SBD, so compared to the minimum wage in Australia and New Zealand, that's a big gap, which is more like 25 Australian dollars. Yes, so $1 SBD I think it's equivalent to only A$1.60. So, if people are to choose, they will always choose to go on labour mobility programs to support their families.
Robin Davies: Well, let's talk about some of those benefits. First, remittances. I believe Solomon Islands has seen a huge increase in the volume of remittances over the past few years. Where does it stand at the moment?
Christina Marau: So, for last year, 2024, Central Bank of Solomon Islands recorded $475 million SBD. So, this is a huge increase from the recent records that we have in terms of seasonal workers' contribution to remittance. So, this is a huge increase, and we want that figure to increase in the future. But we will also be mindful that we need to — the government should be able to also look into other initiative programs where they create an enabling environment for the workers to also invest back into the economy. Otherwise, we have to be careful not to fall into the remittance trap like other Pacific Island countries. So, this is good that we're seeing this increase in remittance, but we also have to think ahead and be able to create some enabling environments so that our workers can invest back and create employment opportunities for others as well.
Robin Davies: Yes, and then, so I guess that's the second area of potential benefits is skills development. People you would hope come back with an ability to perhaps start small businesses. I know it's still early days, but are you seeing that happening, some people coming back and actually utilising the skills they've acquired in the Solomon Islands economy?
Christina Marau: At the moment, we are not. There's no proper assessment done on what the workers have been involved in, but we are seeing a lot of transport services, taxis and people are building houses, but not entrepreneurs, businesses that are running in Solomon Islands. Because we've been hearing some feedback from the workers that starting a business in Solomon Islands, it's a big challenge. There's a lot of things to consider. The expenses are quite a big factor that people need to consider, paying tax and all that. And these are workers that are coming out from the village, and they don't have proper finance management skills, so they just went for the basic transportation and starting up accounting, but not big investment businesses.
Robin Davies: And is there a benefit — I guess it's a bit more intangible — but a sort of social benefit in having young unemployed people, particularly young unemployed males, occupied on a regular basis through these temporary migration schemes? And Solomon Islands has a very skewed age profile. The average Solomon Islander is a young person, and there's a fairly high rate of unemployment. Is this one of the objectives of the scheme is to occupy that potential labour force and avoid some of the social problems that occur with, you know, high levels of unemployment?
Christina Marau: Yes, the intention for the government at the earlier stages, during the negotiation, was for the unemployed portion of the population. And we have put in our policy that these programs are only for unemployed persons, but we are seeing people with skilled and those who have already employed are also applying for the labour mobility programs. And this is something that our government is still looking at ways where we can control, but not so much put punishment on those who are already employed, because we cannot punish someone from being employed and earning less wage, being faithful, working to the private sector or the government, and then being punished because you're employed and you're not eligible to go on labour mobility programs. So, these are some of the grey areas I would say at the moment that we are still having issues, or we're still — what would I say? It's a grey area where we still having discussions around on how we move forward.
Robin Davies: Now when a worker completes their placement and comes back to Solomon Islands, what happens at that point? Is there a debriefing process?
Christina Marau: So, we just develop an economic reintegration strategy. So, under that strategy, we also have some activities or programs — implementing programs that we put into that strategy where once our workers come back, then we would have these debriefing programs for workers to come in, and then we also invite stakeholders so that these returning workers can get involved in other trainings as well. So, we currently host debriefing, return work events for our workers that are coming back, but it's a challenge for the team as well, because when their workers come back, the last person that they want to see is the labour mobility unit team — they want to spend time with their families. So, these are some of the challenges that we have on ground given that. But the database, it really helps us to know where the workers are coming back, and then we reach out to them, and then they come and then we have these programs. But the advantage for us, for the PALM scheme is because the labour mobility unit, we supported the retaining workers to apply for their superannuation, compared to the RSE program, when they come back, they went straight to the villages. So, we don't have a catch point.
Robin Davies: And some people listening might not be aware of this issue. So, in principle, workers from Pacific Island countries can access their superannuation savings after they leave, but it's a difficult, bureaucratic process. So how do you help them to do that?
Christina Marau: Yes, so what our unit did is only — we only lodged that application for the workers. That's an application for a departing Australia superannuation payment. But it's only for those ones that their visas are expired. For those ones that are on the multiple entry visa and only goes for short-term assignments like seven months or nine months, it's a challenge because they have to wait until the end of their visa is expired for three years, then they can access that super, yes, superannuation. I think this is not really an issue for workers who have been in New Zealand. It's more to do with the way the Australian superannuation system works. So, we only do the lodgement, but for any tax advice or superannuation advice or follow ups, we don't — we're finding it a challenge.
Robin Davies: Now, what do you do with the information that you collect in the debriefs from workers as they come back? Do you build up a sort of evidence base of issues that you then discuss with the governments of Australia and New Zealand in an effort to improve the schemes? Is that information actually used?
Christina Marau: Yes. So, we give them opportunity to provide feedback, and this feedback is recorded. We have continuous dialogue with our stakeholders within DFAT post [in] Honiara, and also High Commissioners in New Zealand in Honiara as well. So, with this feedback, we provide them to the appropriate stakeholders, and they were channelling it to the headquarters. So, it's not so much of big issues, just with accommodation and specific employers that they have their time with. That's where we channel those feedback.
Robin Davies: Going back to the — now there's a debate within Australia about one aspect of the PALM scheme, which is the fact that workers are tied to individual employers. So there have been cases where a worker has problems with an employer, there's a dispute, or the employer is definitely involved in poor practice, and some of the workers have felt they had no option but to abscond. So, there's, you know, a significant number of workers who have become detached or disengaged, I think, is the term. Has that been a significant problem with the Solomons workforce?
Christina Marau: I think it comes back to the messaging that we say when they do the pre-departure briefing. When they have issues, they need to voice it, and we have a policy in country for disengagement. So, once you cross the line and you disengage, then we won't be able to support that particular worker, even if they have genuine reason to disengage from the workplace. But in terms of being attached to that one particular employer, I think for the long term, I think it's good given the investment that our employers are putting in terms of the rental for the accommodation and everything that's been paying upfront. I think it's good that they stick with one employer. But for the short-term program for the horticulture and agriculture, I think there should be a consideration of that type of flexibility for workers — can go to one employer and then they can — the same model that New Zealand is currently doing at the moment with the joint ATRs [Agreements to Recruit]. Yes, I think that's exactly the debate in Australia at the moment, whether that should be the approach.
Robin Davies: So, on issues like that, how do you engage in dialogue with the two Australian government departments? So, the PALM scheme is administered by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations and DFAT. Do you engage directly with them on issues like that, where you see scope for improvements in the way the scheme operates? Or is that done more on a regional basis, for example, through the Pacific Labour Mobility Annual Meeting process, or the Forum Secretariat?
Christina Marau: So, we have a strong relationship with our DFAT colleagues as well. So, when these issues come up, we just call up a meeting and then we dialogue with them. But in terms of policy changes or big proposals like that, we go through the PLAM, Pacific Labour Annual Meeting and other bilateral discussions to propose some of the changes that we want. But we also acknowledge that these policy issues need to be debated in different levels of bureaucracy. So, we also acknowledge that, and we go through the right channels, but we have senior officials bilaterals happening in Honiara and in Australia, and these are some of the things, the proposals that we raise.
Robin Davies: So, this year, Solomon Islands is hosting the Pacific Labour Mobility Annual Meeting in November. I think I guess that means you are hosting it. So, what does that involve? And do you have to set the agenda for that?
Christina Marau: Yes. So, Solomon Islands will be hosting the PLMAM 2025 in Honiara this year, and the agenda will be set through a labour mobility working group. This is a committee where all the parties to the arrangement on labour mobility are formed under the PACER Plus annex to the PACER Plus. So, the agenda will be set through that committee, but this will be a forum where a lot of the issues that are happening with labour mobility will be discussed. And we're very much looking forward to hosting this year.
Robin Davies: And I think right now, almost as we speak, there's a meeting in Nadi under the auspices of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat to take forward principles on labour mobility, regional principles. Can you give me a sense of where that process is going?
Christina Marau: So, for the meeting that is happening in Nadi, this is the third Labour Mobility Technical Working Group meeting in consultation with the drafting committee for that labour mobility principle, regional principles. So, I think from that meeting, the draft will be submitted back to headquarters and officials, and they will have chance to comment and feedback, and then it goes up to the Forum Trade Meeting for them to endorse.
Robin Davies: And is it possible to say what the key discussion points are in that process? There is definitely a wide range of views across the region about the pros and cons of labour mobility schemes. Samoa, for example, has regularly expressed reservations. Other countries, Fiji itself have highlighted both pros and cons. I think Solomon's, PNG, Vanuatu have mostly been very positive about the benefits. So, in these regional discussions, what are the sticking points?
Christina Marau: I think the sticking point for Solomon Islands is, a lot of these countries, we have our own development aspirations, and for Solomon Islands in particular, labour mobility is a priority for Solomon Islands, and we want to increase our numbers. And if having a regional principle, has to accommodate that flexibility for Solomon Islands to keep increasing our numbers to Australia, New Zealand and also the region as well. So, we are looking at intra-Pacific labour mobility and having these countries acknowledging their limitation with resources and capacity as well. This regional labour mobility principle has to accommodate that flexibility for regional receiving countries to also have that flexibility for us to send our workers, movement of our people, but in a more flexible, Pacific way.
Robin Davies: And just to finish with a question about research. So, as we've discussed earlier, this is an area that lends itself to sensationalism in the media. It lends itself to generalisations about social impacts. So, it seems particularly important that there's a solid body of evidence on how labour mobility schemes are actually operating. Whether the findings are good or bad or somewhere in between, it's important that there's credible evidence. Now, some of my colleagues at the Australian National University are involved in this research jointly with the World Bank. How do you work with researchers to ensure that they have good quality, obviously anonymised but good quality data to support their research?
Christina Marau: In terms of research for Solomon Islands, I think having someone locally engage in the field work and also collection of the data is very important. Just to give that context to Solomon Islands and other Pacific Island countries as well. So, over the past years, when I'm mostly involved in research and also being lead in the labour mobility unit, I think one of the priorities for me is to involve local staff, just to have that local context, and also to build capacity for our local staff as well. Because it's good that we have researchers, experts coming in, but we also have to build our national local staff, or local workers have that capability to also do research and have that local context, which, in turn, presumably has much more impact on decision makers if the research is undertaken locally.
Robin Davies: Right. Christina, thank you very much for your time. That's been extremely concrete. And I think it's important for people to understand how these schemes actually operate, and it's important for people to have direct perspectives from those who manage them. So, thank you very much.
Christina Marau: Thank you. It's been a pleasure.