Several have now started petitions to give the foreign workers a fair go at finding work.
One of them, Frenchman Rick, said the petitions — which are attracting thousands of signatures every day and being shared even faster — are calling on the Federal Government to cancel regional work requirements for 2019-20 working holiday visas.
Rick said for Canberra to be enforcing this rule at this time in history was “extremely unfair and dangerous”.
He said all the backpackers understood the need for farms and factories to prioritise Australians but it was leaving backpackers facing a choice of totally funding their ongoing stay here, or heading home.
“It is dangerous at this time because instead of looking for a job where we are, we are still having to travel to find work, which can sadly spread the virus,” Rick said.
“But also dangerous because even though a great many Australians show empathy and solidarity to us, there are a few in this time of crisis who are showing hostility.
“Many backpackers do not know whether to go home or not only because they fear to never have the chance to come back, as they have to complete their visa requirements as they stand.
“All we are asking is for the requirements for the working holiday visas or any temporary visas to be cancelled or frozen.”
The backpackers want that freeze backdated to March 1 so they can come back “and continue doing what we love — when it is safe”.
“We want to be safe for everyone and we want to continue being a productive and an important part of the regional economy when it becomes appropriate to do so.”
Rick said he knew of, and had heard of, many backpackers who had already left to go back to their families. He said most of them would probably never have the chance to come back.
“That’s because they haven’t been able to finish their regional work requirements,” Rick said.
“When all this is over, we want to come back and continue doing what we love: working hard, meeting Australians and contributing to the economy.
“We are just asking for us to be given the chance to be heard.”
Rick and his Italian girlfriend started their Australian visit in Brisbane at the end of September and had been working their way around the country, including at an abattoir in Colac.
However, they are now in Busselton in south-west Western Australia; and because of that state’s COVID-19 regulations, movement within regions is currently heavily restricted and jobs are increasingly hard to find as the virus forces more and more businesses and enterprises to close down.
“It’s my first time in Australia but my girlfriend was also here last year — but that was a very different time,” Rick said.
“Things are much worse in my country, in France, but her home in Italy is the worst,” he said.
Rick said they had a van to get around the country, but like many others feel they have been caught in a situation beyond their control.
He said because they were unlikely to fill their 88-day visa obligations their records would simply list them as having failed to meet the requirements and they would not be allowed another visa.
“We are just asking for a chance to do what we came here for.”
Rick’s petition can be found at change.org/p/scott-morrison-cancel-regional-work-for-the-2019-20