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Why are backpackers warning off Bundaberg?
While many backpackers boast about their positive experiences working in Australia’s food bowl, some have told fellow travellers to avoid the Bundaberg region amid claims they were mistreated while working on local farms.
Bundaberg is well known among backpackers as it offers a number of year-round and seasonal jobs picking everything from strawberries to chillies.
But a Facebook group named Backpackers Australia is full of posts warning travellers not to live and work in the region.
One  backpacker, French national Valentin Egger, said he arrived in Bundaberg in March  2020 and found farm work.
He says he was told he would be paid a piece-rate to pick fruit. Instead, he was paid piece-rate for pulling out weeds by hand, earning just $30 a day.
Unable to cross the border due to the pandemic, at the same time, he was paying a minimum of $125 a week to live at the farm’s dedicated hostel. 
His visa did not allow him to work full time and while he was desperate for work, he thought the pay was extremely low for an all-day outdoor job.
He quit after 10 days and requested his two weeks' rent deposit back, but claims it was never returned.  
Words: Angeline LowtherProducer: Veathika Jain
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Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/web-stories/free/fraser-coast-chronicle/why-backpackers-are-warning-off-bundaberg-2