Representatives of dioceses, religious orders, Christian churches and the Australian government joined seasonal workers from Oceania at the recent Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO) conference.
The conference addressed issues faced by seasonal and migrant workers in Australia, emphasising their contributions to Australian society beyond their labour, and exploring how faith communities and society can welcome and learn from these gifts, fostering positive change.
Held at Australian Catholic University’s Melbourne campus, the event was a collaboration between the ACMRO, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s Office for Justice, Ecology and Peace and ACRATH – Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans.
The conference program was built around a daily keynote, three panel engagements, and time for dialogue, both informal and synodal.
Several presenters asked conference attendees the question, “Why do we pay attention to this issue?” Together, participants explored our Christian commitment to working for justice. The conference prayer reminded attendees of Deuteronomy 10:19: “You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt”.
An exciting and challenging aspect of the conference was the presence of 11 seasonal workers, all from Timor Leste. While communication was sometimes difficult, the connection and shared understandings were profound. Archbishop Christopher Prowse, chair of the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry (BCELM), in his very moving presentation, engaged with Jamie, a seasonal worker, to share Jamie’s story.
Just one day after Jamie’s wife had a baby, he left for his nine-month seasonal work assignment in Australia. Jamie’s baby is now four months old and gurgled to conference attendees via social media as we walked together to the conference Mass.
Other seasonal workers spoke about how little they understood of their pre-departure briefing; and others explained how the reality of their broccoli picking, with fewer hours of work than they wanted and in icy conditions, was not what they expected.
The conference dinner followed the conference Mass at the Catholic Leadership Centre. The keynote presentation at the dinner was delivered by NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner, Dr James Cockayne. James shared four stories of overseas workers in Australia, which challenged attendees to consider the gritty realities of people facing modern slavery in Australia when the system fails and when people lose their voice. James said this is where pastoral care could be provided by church groups.
The Commissioner said while church and community groups can help people to feel more welcome, there are several other things that need to happen to protect seasonal workers, the main one being that government policy needs to address workers’ rights.
ACMRO Director Fr Khalid Marogi, who was a gentle, insight-filled guide of the conference, concluded the event with a further logical question – where to from here? After the input and the time for dialogue, each attendee left the conference with clear options for next steps in bridge building.
Words: Christine Carolan, ACRATH Executive Officer
Image: Ryan Macalandag