Mum of Mia Ayliffe-Chung out to expose ‘exploitation’ in Australian visa scheme

THE mother of murdered Surfers Paradise backpacker Mia Ayliffe-Chung is adamant her daughter’s death won’t be in vain, saying she’s on a mission to end exploitation in the farm work visa system.

British backpacker Mia Ayliffe-Chung was violently stabbed to death in August last year at Shelley's Backpackers in Home Hill just 10 days into a farm work stint to extend her visa in Australian.

THE mother of slain Surfers Paradise backpacker Mia Ayliffe-Chung is ramping up her campaign to expose “exploitation” she says is rife in the farm work visa system.

Rosie Ayliffe wants regulation of the system which requires working holiday-makers like her daughter Mia to do 88 days work in rural areas to extend their visas for another year.

Miss Ayliffe-Chung, 20, was just 10 days into her farm work stint in north Queensland when she was stabbed to death in her dorm at a Home Hill hostel in August last year.

Up until then she had been enjoying life working and living in the Surfers Paradise party precinct.

Mia Ayliffe-Chung’s mother Rosie is campaigning for regulation of Australia’s farm work visa system for backpackers, claiming it is rife with sexual and financial exploitation and unsafe.

‘I WOKE TO BLOODCURDLING SCREAMS’

French national Smail Ayad, who was staying in the same dorm, has been charged with her murder and that of fellow Brit Tom Jackson who was also living at the hostel Shelley’s Backpackers.

Miss Ayliffe-Chung’s mother, who returned to Australia for a second time a month ago to visit Home Hill, told ABC’s Australian Story she hoped to use the publicity around the deaths to alert people to “the fact they were in danger for more than one reason and this is rife”.

Rosie Ayliffe, a teacher back in the UK, said her first visit, which included meeting her daughter’s friends in Surfers Paradise and attending a local memorial, had helped her understand better why so many young Brits wanted to come to Australia.

Mia Ayliffe-Chung, 20, had settled into life in Surfers Paradise, as a popular waitress at Bedroom nightclub before her death.

But she said since starting her campaign for regulation of the farm work visa system she had been contacted by working holiday-makers claiming financial exploitation and sexual harassment.

“A friend’s daughter came onto Facebook and talked about sexual exploitation while doing her farm work and I started to hear about other cases — another girl told to clean a conveyor belt while it was moving was actually scalped and lost an ear,” she told ABC.

She said part of the problem was no central body organised the work at approved farms or hostels and her daughter had organised it herself.

“I want to see reform of the system, regulation of the 88 days, a central body which distributes these people among farms which are certified so they are aware of their duties.

“Since the start of campaigning there has been quite a lot of media attention. In terms of political change and movement and actual change on the ground there has been practically nothing,” she said of her decision to visit Australia and Home Hill recently.

Mr Jackson’s father Les told the same documentary his son had built up a rental debt at a hostel initially because he’d arrived with expectation of work and there wasn’t any.

Les claimed his passport was confiscated before he understood police helped him get it back.

MORE TO COME IN TOMORROW’S GOLD COAST BULLETIN