Mum takes credit for holiday visa changes
BRITISH resident Rosie Ayliffe has been campaigning for the abolishment of the Working Holiday Visa Rule since the death of her daughter Mia in Home Hill in 2016.
Previously to be eligible for a second Working Holiday Maker visa, you must have carried out at least three months of specified work.
Australian Prime Minister Scott
Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that as part of the free trade agreement Working Holiday Visa makers in the UK would have expanded rights and would now be able to stay for three years with an increased cut-off age of 35.
This means British backpackers would no longer need to work the required 88 days to extend their working holiday visa as Mia was when she was killed.
The announcement of the abolishment of the rule came as a shock to Ms Ayliffe, however, she hoped the efforts she went to helped bring about the change.
“I never thought that getting it abolished would be achievable for British people..i never dreamt that could happen, I would always ask for better regulation of the 88 days,” Ms Ayliffe said.
“It went on and on, I did whatever I
could think of to make a difference.”
“I think the message has gone through that this is not acceptable and that young people shouldn’t be doing it, that it creates this power imbalance and at its worst it is modern slavery,” she said.
Ms Ayliffe said she believed this was the result of her campaigning.
“I’m taking this one, nobody is taking the credit for me here, Boris Johnson owes me a pint” she said.