The Australian Government's pilot programme to allow fruit pickers from Vanuatu to travel to the Northern Territory has been thrown into question, with a Vanuatu Government spokesman telling the ABC most ministers are against the plan.
A final decision is set to be made this week, with Vanuatu's Office of the Prime Minister saying it is seeking legal advice before allowing any workers to leave the country.
The pilot programme would allow up to 200 workers to travel from Vanuatu to harvest mangoes in the Northern Territory. Those men and women were expecting to board a chartered flight to Darwin on Tuesday.
The Australian Government has been pushing the plan as a solution to labour shortages in the Territory, and mango farmers have warned they will not be able to harvest this season's crop without workers from overseas.
But a spokesman for the Prime Minister of Vanuatu Bob Loughman told the ABC that the scheme may not proceed, saying some Vanuatu government ministers wanted to instead focus on repatriating their own citizens who are currently overseas.
"The Government of Vanuatu through its Council of Ministers has not, at this stage, made a decision to give a green light for the sending of the seasonal workers to Darwin early next week," he said.
"[The council] is dominantly against the plan, arguing that all the efforts are now placed with the Repatriation Plan which is rolling out again next week."
A final decision is expected early this week.
The Prime Minister's spokesman also said some ministers were in favour of the plan and acknowledged that its economic benefits were "very well noted, especially in times where our people and communities are trying to cope with the impacts of revenue losses".
But state of emergency laws enacted in response to the coronavirus pandemic do not allow any Vanuatu citizens to leave the country for seasonal work.
If the pilot programme does collapse, it would be a blow to the Northern Territory's mango industry and a diplomatic embarrassment for the Australian Government.
The Australian Opposition's International Development spokesman, Pat Conroy, said the Government had to urgently resolve the issue.
"Our farmers need the help and our Pacific Island friends need the income, especially given the impact of COVID on their economies," he said.
"If it's not resolved, the Government's Pacific Step Up will be diminished."
Australia's Cabinet recently declared it would resume both the Seasonal Workers Programme and the Pacific Labour Scheme, "informed by the trial recruitment of Pacific workers in the Northern Territory to address labour shortages affecting mango farmers."
But Australian employers would only be able to recruit through the Pacific labour mobility programmes if they have shown that they can't find suitable Australian workers through labour market testing.
A spokesperson for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said: "We are in discussions with the Government of Vanuatu regarding the Northern Territory mango trial."
'We are worried about the sickness'
The proposed pilot programme has stoked a mixed response in Vanuatu. Labour mobility programmes have been a crucial source of revenue for many workers in the Pacific Island country in recent years.
Some of the workers from Vanuatu who were chosen to participate in the pilot say they appreciated the opportunity, but remain concerned about catching COVID-19 while in Australia.
Vanuatu currently has no recorded coronavirus cases.
Jessie Owens Toa, who has harvested mangoes in Australia for the last four years, said he was expecting to board a flight on Tuesday bound for Darwin.
He said he was keen to earn an income by taking part in the pilot programme, but was worried about the risk to his family.
"I have two kids, and I'm worried about the sickness passing through the border walls," he said.
Mr Toa's partner, Lorina Worworbu, is also concerned that Mr Toa will not be able to return to Vanuatu once his nine-month contract expires.
"I've heard they have some cases there in Australia, so I'm worried that they'll bring the virus here," Ms Worworbu said.
But others in Vanuatu say the country needs to take the risk.
John Salong is a Vanuatu member of Parliament, and a former recruitment agent for Australia's Seasonal Workers Programme.
He said Vanuatu's economy was at a "standstill" since the country's tourism industry had been devastated by the pandemic, and believed the pilot programme was a way to help the country recover.
"We see this as a very big and important step to begin to restart the economic activities of Vanuatu," Mr Salong said.
"Of course we are all concerned that there should never be any importation of COVID-19 back into the country."