Open path to citizenship for migrant farm workers: Joyce

The deputy PM says he is in favour of offering a path to citizenship for Asian workers on the newly announced agriculture visa.

Workers busy harvesting Asian vegetables on a farm at Kemps Creek in Sydney's west.

Barnaby Joyce says he is in favour of offering a path to citizenship for workers who come from Asia to the regions on the newly announced agriculture visa, in what could be a contentious shake-up of the migration program.

In an interview with The Australian, the Deputy Prime Minister declared his ambition for the construction of new dams, as well as infrastructure that would transport water from tropical Queensland to drier parts of the state, in what would be the “first iteration” of the long-proposed Bradfield Scheme.

He also outlined an ambition for a sealed regional road in the outback to allow people to drive from Perth to Cairns “in a caravan”.

Mr Joyce said workers who came to Australia on the agriculture visa, which is being negotiated by senior government ministers, should be allowed to apply for citizenship if they “had the prospect of being a good citizen”.

“Your alternative is to rule them out, isn’t it? And I wouldn’t be doing that,” Mr Joyce said.

The agriculture visa has long been opposed by the Liberals due to its potential to clash with the strategically important Pacific Labour Scheme.

Scott Morrison agreed to implement one in return for the Nationals’ support of the free-trade deal with Britain, which waived the requirement for British backpackers to work on farms if they wanted to stay in Australia for two years.

The new visa, likely to be implemented by the end of the year, will allow farmers to source tens of thousands of temporary workers from the 10 ASEAN nations, including Cambodia, Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Mr Joyce said he was in favour of migration, noting one of the key concerns highlighted in the Intergenerational Report, released by Treasury last week, was slowing population growth.

“I am in favour of decent citizens who work hard, having the capacity to become Australians … especially (people) working in regional areas,” Mr Joyce said.

“Probably (some) of the most open-minded and egalitarian people about immigration are in regional Australia.

“People in Sydney think that it’s full and it is crowded and they don’t want anybody else. No one is worried about crowding in Tamworth, or Dubbo, or Longreach, or Katherine, or Mildura. It’s a different world view.”

In his portfolio of infrastructure, Mr Joyce said he would like to push forward with the Inland Rail Project and revealed he wanted a third sealed road in the bush.

“We need a third one,” he said.

“That is something that should happen so you (can) drive from Perth to Cairns in a caravan.

“Once you get the roads sealed you can open up mining precincts. You can get a better movement of cattle. You also bring people a better standard of living so they reduce their remoteness.”

Mr Joyce said he wanted to “get some dams going” near Tamworth in NSW and Queensland’s Hells Gate, arguing the process to build more dams had been stalled since he left as Nationals leader.

“We need to start having a big vision, and it is not going to happen overnight ... start constructing the infrastructure that can move the water west from north Queensland,” he said.

“The Bradfield Scheme might be something that happens over 50 years. But in the first iteration it might be just water to the … western side of the Great Divide.”