Labor is telling regional businesses to boost their workforces with Pacific migrants as it faces complaints from One Nation and industries who warn their operations will be crippled by government plans to cut thousands of working holidaymakers.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke this month unveiled a plan to cut second and third year working holiday visas by 38,000 places. The fight began in August when Labor quietly paused visa processing.
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said backpackers should be quarantined from the migration changes because they worked jobs that Australians would not perform.
"There are a lot of jobs that just cannot be filled with Australians because ... they've basically risen above the bottom level. Or they're just bung lazy and are not capable of work," he said on Monday.
Under current rules, young foreigners must complete three months of regional work to qualify for a second year visa and six months for a third year visa, although British backpackers are exempt from the requirement.
The government's pitch for Pacific workers suggests a greater reliance on Pacific labour schemes as an alternative source of regional labour, though the specific arrangements were not outlined in the reports.