Don’t make summer harder for Gold Coast businesses – changes to the working holiday maker visa that your business should know about

Tourism and hospitality aren’t just part of our Gold Coast lifestyle – they are a huge part of our economy.

Millions visit our city each year, spending billions of dollars at local hotels, restaurants, cafes, attractions and businesses. Tourism supports more than 20,000 Gold Coast jobs, and here on the Southern Gold Coast we know just how important a strong summer season is.

That’s why I’m concerned about Labor’s proposed changes to working holiday maker visas.

Under the changes, the number of second-year working holiday visas would be capped at 45,000, down from 57,000 last year, while third-year places would fall from 31,000 to just 5,000.

Last week I joined Nationals Leader Senator Matt Canavan at Burleigh Pavilion to hear directly from local operators about what that will mean for their businesses.

The message was pretty simple: working holiday makers are critical for their business to maintain operations.

They help businesses manage seasonal peaks, particularly over summer, and many of those returning for a second or third year are experienced workers who already know the job.

The Coalition has been clear that Australia’s overall migration numbers need to come down. But that doesn’t mean every part of the migration program should be treated the same way.

Working holiday makers are temporary. They come here, work, travel, spend money in our local economy and help fill genuine workforce gaps.

The Gold Coast tourism industry has already faced rising operating costs, red tape and persistent workforce pressures. Creating more uncertainty around a workforce local businesses rely on risks making a difficult situation even harder.

The Government should rethink these changes and give Gold Coast tourism and hospitality businesses the certainty they need heading into summer.

If elected, the Coalition will remove Labor’s caps to the working holiday maker visas and designate the Gold Coast as a region exempt from higher application fees. This will support the workforce pipeline that so many of our businesses rely on.

And as always, if there is an issue affecting your business, your industry or the wider Southern Gold Coast community, please get in touch with my office. I’m always keen to hear directly from local businesses about what is working, what isn’t, and where the Federal Government can do better.