General News
27 October, 2026
Hotelier warns PM of visa change impacts
ATHERTON hoteliers Michael and Maree Nasser have returned from a meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over proposed visa changes for working holiday makers, confident they conveyed the potential harm to business and primary producers if the changes went ahead.
Mr Nasser, who owns the Barron Valley Hotel, travelled to Canberra to talk to the PM about the visa changes at a meeting organised by Member for Kennedy Bob Katter and took the opportunity to speak to other parliamentarians including One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, Nationals leader Matt Canavan, Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell, and Minister for the Environment and Water Murray Watt.
The Nasser’s goal was to ensure the Prime Minister was aware of the ramifications for regional areas who heavily rely upon backpackers in the agricultural, retail and hospitality sectors.
Describing the meeting as positive, Mr Nasser said the PM was receptive and had “not shut the door” on making changes to the proposed visa changes.
“I thought it went pretty well. He was very receptive and, overall, I sowed some seeds to give him food for thought,” he said.
“He listened to what I had to say and he liked a couple of the ideas that we spoke about,” he added, raising the need to require UK backpackers to do regional work as part of their visa which they are currently exempt from.
From July 2024, UK passport holders applying for a second or third Working Holiday visas no longer needed to satisfy the specified work requirement.
“Removing that requirement also removes an important incentive to choose regional employment,” Mr Nasser said, adding that the government should assess the impact on regional labour supply before extending similar exemptions to other countries, including through any future Australia–EU trade arrangements.
Among Mr Nasser’s suggestions was for the government to extend the current 88-day requirement for working holiday makers to work in regional areas to six months in the first year, and drop any notion of a ballot.
Before the meeting, Mr Albanese read a letter outlining Mr Nasser’s concerns, which was accompanied by a case study using his own business to demonstrate how negative the changes would be to regional businesses.
“I told him that the case study is going to apply to every hotel, cafe, tourism place, and farm across regional Australia,” Mr Nasser said.
I told the other government Ministers that I couldn’t imagine a government wanting to be held responsible for the destruction of multiple industries including farming, hospitality and tourism across regional Australia – if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
“The backpackers we have and others who I have spoken to are really spooked over these changes,” he said.
Eight experienced hospitality workers had already withdrawn from planned Christmas and New Year work at the hotel, while two other hospitality workers and two backpackers planning tractor work on banana farms had postponed their plans.
Ten workers already completing six months of regional work were concerned about their future visas.
“The immediate issue is uncertainty. Workers are reconsidering whether regional employment is worth the commitment, while employers cannot confidently plan staffing for their busiest periods,” Mr Nasser said.
He told the Prime Minister that his hotel currently employed 46 people, including three sponsored overseas staff and 13 Working Holiday Makers. The hotel also provided accommodation for up to 90 working backpackers.
“We provide backpacker staff to eight farms and four other cafés. Howe Farm uses up to 15-20 backpackers with driving licences to operate tractors hauling banana trailers,” he said.
“A substantial loss of backpacker workers and guests would put revenue at risk across our accommodation, restaurant, bar, coffee shop and bottle shops.
“We could be forced to reduce trading hours, including closing for lunch on Sundays and public holidays. Our coffee shop could face closure.”
He estimated his business could lose a significant amount of annual revenue if the changes went ahead and that there would be substantial losses to other businesses in the area from spending on food, tourism and other local services.
And his final message to the PM: “Please listen to the regional businesses and communities that rely on these workers. We want them here, and we need a system that encourages them to come.”
