China's security pact with Solomon Islands has been a hot election topic, but Pacific Islanders in Australia say there are more pressing issues they care about when it comes time to vote.
and the Pacific Labour Scheme — pathways for Pacific workers to take up farm jobs in regional and rural Australia — needed to be addressed first..
"It's a great election promise, but we can't add to an existing structure that's not supporting the existing people who are here." For her, another key issue is the deportation of Pacific Island visa-holders who have received a prison sentence. "It's a policy that has been there for quite some time and, obviously, has been detrimental to our Pacific communities," she said.Aiga Aii, a Samoan permanent resident who lives in Ipswich, said Australian politicians needed to do more to engage with Pacific communities in their electorates.concerned that some people in her community may not be very interested in the federal election if they did not know who they were voting for.
"One of the issues that I have experienced is the lack of communication between those who are coming up for the election … and the people who are voting," Ms Aii said.
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