Migrant workers’ rights, social justice and sustainability in Australian and New Zealand wineries: a comparative context

Abstract

This chapter focuses on sustainable practices from the perspective of current social sustainability issues involving the rights of migrant workers within the New Zealand wine industry. A comparative context from the Australian wine industry is also provided using the cool climate winegrowing areas of Western Australia and Tasmania. Migrant workers’ rights and social justice were two areas which featured in the 2015 and 2016 National Wineries Survey that was conducted across all three of these regions and was designed to examine wine producers’ perceptions towards sustainability and wine tourism. This study found that in terms of the social aspects of sustainability and the treatment of migrant workers that very different opinions existed between Australian and New Zealand wineries. Wineries in both Tasmania and Western Australia saw social sustainability as impacting on their business practices, while their New Zealand counterparts were seemingly somewhat ambivalent towards this issue.