Think twice before you let a daughter go to Australia
As a British backpacker escapes abduction in Queensland, Rosie Ayliffe remembers her daughter Mia, murdered there last year
When my daughter arrived in Australia, I breathed a sigh of relief. To my mind, she had reached safe harbour: a job which she had pre-arranged from the UK, a familiar culture and, like many Britons, extended family and friends in the region who could rescue her should she get into difficulties.
Venomous snakes and spiders aside, as a destination for a gap-year student, Down Under could hardly feel more secure. I’m sure most parents would agree – and have been horrified by this week’s news of a 22-year-old female backpacker from Liverpool being rescued by police from a kidnapper in Mitchell, Queensland, after allegedly being held hostage for two months.
For many, this was a reminder of my beautiful 20-year-old daughter, Mia Ayliffe-Chung, who was killed in a hostel near Townsville, in the same state, last year. To me this was a very different scenario – Mia was dragged from her bed and stabbed to death – but I can imagine how traumatised this girl and her family must be.
Mia’s travels were planned meticulously between us with her safety in mind. I followed her through social media and frequent phone conversations every step of the way. Having travelled extensively myself, I impressed several things upon her: dress as you see locals dressing; be respectful of other cultures and customs and never get into a vehicle alone with a stranger.
I was happy to see from photos she posted from India to Indonesia that she followed my advice. And yet she travelled the world in safety only to be killed in a country we perceive to be so similar to our own.
Although her suspected killer was not Australian – French national Smail Ayad, 29, a fellow backpacker, has been charged with her murder – I believe her death would not have occurred had she not joined the Australian government’s second working holiday visa programme, which entails completing 88 days of (usually) agricultural work in rural regions within one season.
This is a scheme on offer to young travellers from Commonwealth countries, France, Germany, South Korea and Japan, allowing them to extend their visas by a year while plugging a labour gap. In theory, it is a way for young people to experience another side to the country and as such it is touted as a ‘‘cultural exchange’’. But, as I have discovered, the scheme is so badly run it often amounts to little more than modernday slavery.
Put bluntly, they are exploited into carrying out Australians’ dirtiest, unsafest work for them, in the most remote and inhospitable areas of that vast country. The jobs – anything from fruit-picking to working with animals – are advertised online, and so young people accept work in places that may take a 14-hour coach ride to reach. Young people from smaller countries like ours simply don’t understand how isolated they will be; internet and mobile phone coverage is not a given, and Greyhound buses stop in town perhaps once a day.
Once there, they are forced to book into often overcrowded farmworker hostels, sleeping in mixed dorms which may be filthy, infested with bed bugs and pose fire hazards.
The employers often take advantage by paying workers next to nothing. Verbal and even sexual abuse and harassment are rife, and young women are at high risk. It is not uncommon for passports to be confiscated by employers to prevent workers leaving, but many are so desperate to clock up their days they feel compelled to put up with it.
When Mia left our Derbyshire home in September 2015, I knew nothing of all this. Obviously, I had my concerns for her safety, but I felt that my beautiful girl would be looked after by people drawn to her charm.
After making her way through northern Africa and Asia, I was relieved when she arrived in Australia in February 2016. Mia settled down happily to her job at Bond University in Brisbane and acquired a flat-share with a view of the beach. She was having such a good time that I was not surprised when she told me she was going to embark on the 88 days so she could spend a second year out there.
In late August, she headed up to Home Hill, just south of Townsville, where her job was to clear fields of stones to protect farm machinery; back-breaking work in the searing heat. Four days later, she was dead.
Two police officers arrived on my doorstep. They knew little, other than that Mia had been fatally injured – it was only when I spoke to the consulate that I found out she had been stabbed by Ayad, possibly high on cannabis, who is also charged with killing another Briton, Tom Jackson, 30, who courageously tried to save her.
I flew to Brisbane to bring Mia home. As soon as I spoke to her friends there, I realised that the conditions the backpackers were living in must have had a contributory effect. It was like the Wild West. I was told of an employer accused of rape but allowed to carry on offering work to young women afterwards. He is facing trial next month for a further rape of a backpacker. Then there was the crystal meth-using farmer who housed his workers in caravans, one of which he burnt to the ground one terrifying night.
It was clear there was a total lack of supervision and regulation of the visa extension programme. In Britain, we have already seen this type of exploitation of immigrant workers legislated against. After the 2004 Morecambe Bay cockle picking disaster, when at least 21 Chinese workers died having been brought to the UK illegally, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority was established to protect migrant workers through standards which cover health and safety, accommodation, pay, transport and training.
The Australian government is looking into this sector with a view to making changes, I know, but that cannot happen soon enough for the young people already there. I have set up a campaign, Tom & Mia’s Legacy, along with a Facebook group to gather evidence and pressure them into cleaning up this industry.
What I want most is to warn other parents of what is really happening in Australia. I have barely begun to grieve for my only child. In my mind, she will always be a few weeks shy of her 21st birthday.
We can’t stop children going on gap years – nor should we. Travel is an important, life-enhancing part of education. But until there are serious changes to the Australian system, I would urge any young adult to avoid the second year visa scheme. Go to Australia for 365 days of fun, sun, adventure and laughter. And then move on. It will always be there for a return trip in years to come.
‘She travelled the world in safety only to be killed in a country so similar to our own’