Father of four Joe Koumera was on the brink of fulfilling a dream for his family — a sturdy, weatherproof home in the tropics of Tanna Island in Vanuatu — when he died in South Australia’s Riverland.
On Monday, October 14, police recovered the Pacific Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme worker’s body from the Murray River in Renmark.
South Australia Police said in a statement they were investigating the death but they were not treating it as suspicious.
One month on from Mr Koumera’s death, his uncle Peter Komra and Mr Koumera’s wife, Narboro Tapun, in Vanuatu said they had not been contacted with any information about the investigation.
Joe Koumera died in Australia before he was able to complete his family home in Vanuatu. (ABC News: Esau Iaruel)
Through a translator, Mr Komra said the family found out about the death from one of the staff working for Mr Koumera’s employer, PLL Contractors.
He said the family wanted direct communication from Australian authorities.
“We want to get more information on that but we don’t know how to do it,” Mr Komra said.
Mr Koumera’s uncle Peter Komra says the grieving family is concerned about how to pay school fees. (ABC News: Esau Iaruel)
According to the Department of Home Affairs, Mr Koumera is one of 68 Pacific Island workers who have died in Australia under the PALM scheme since July 2020.
It said 20 of those deaths, including Mr Koumera’s, were still under investigation.
Rural Vanuatu reeling
Deep in the lush, green, tropical rainforest of Tanna Island, Vanuatu, the mountainside village of Green Point is mourning the loss of Mr Koumera — a beloved father, husband, and community pillar.
Narboro Tapun says Mr Koumera went to Australia so he could build his family a house. (ABC News: Esau Iaruel)
Mr Koumera’s wife said the lack of information about the death and subsequent police investigation had left her struggling with unanswered questions.
“We’re still questioning the incident and what happened to him,” Ms Tapun said, through a translator.
“On Saturday night [October 12] he spoke to me saying on Sunday [October 13] he will send money, but then we didn’t hear from him on Sunday.
“[I haven’t] heard anything from the police or the [Australian] government. We don’t know anything about what happened.”
South Australia Police said it had notified the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) of Mr Koumera’s death, whose role it was to contact the next of kin.
A DEWR spokesperson said it was aware of Mr Koumera’s death.
“The department notified the Vanuatu High Commissioner, country liaison officers (CLOs), and the labour sending unit in accordance with agreed information sharing and incident notification protocols,” the spokesperson said.
“The department is working with the employer and relevant authorities, and providing continued support.
“The matter is subject to a police investigation and the department cannot comment further.”
A pile of building supplies intended for the Koumera-Tapun family home remain untouched. (ABC News: Esau Iaruel)
Vanuatu country liaison officer for the PALM scheme, Pita Foliaki Lokiatui, said in Mr Koumera’s case his official next of kin was “most likely” his employer, PLL Contractors Pty Ltd.
“The next of kin is normally, most likely, the approved employer in Australia,” Mr Foliaki Lokiatui said.
PLL Contractors Pty Ltd declined to comment.
Mr Foliaki Lokiatui said he told Mr Koumera’s uncle and brother in Vanuatu of the death as per Vanuatu government guidelines.
Young family, no income
Mr Koumera, who worked as a seasonal fruit picker, sent his earnings back to his family in the remote village of Green Point each week.
His death has left his young family — including his four children Steven, Jack, Ruth, and Batist, and his wife Narboro Tapun — without income.
Through a translator, Mr Komra said the majority of the money his nephew sent home each week was used on materials for the construction of their now-unfinished family home.
“The house is incomplete now. It still has the roof to put on and also the children, they go to school,” Mr Komra said.
“The family is worried about how to pay for their school fees. The school fees are 50,000 vatu [about $600] per year.”
The ABC understands Mr Koumera, like most PALM workers, did not have life insurance.
Joe Koumera’s family in Vanuatu want to know how he drowned in the Murray River. (ABC News: Esau Iaruel)
Life insurance, also known as death cover, is a contract that pays a sum of money to a beneficiary when the insured person dies.
According to Mr Foliaki Lokiatui, workers are not required to have travel or life insurance to be part of the PALM scheme.
Mark Zirnsak, a senior social justice advocate for the Uniting Church, said the lack of mandatory life insurance for PALM workers was an issue that should be considered.
The Uniting Church of Australia, in its many regional locations, has an ongoing relationship with PALM workers.
Many Pacific Island labourers are religious and develop a relationship with the church upon arrival in Australia.
“Part of the challenge with this would be who ends up paying for the life insurance,” Mr Zirnsak said.
Mark Zirmsak advocates for international laborers on Australian shores. (Supplied: Mark Zirnsak)
“Clearly these workers are often coming from an impoverished background, so it would be great if the Australian government was able to provide that assurance and that if a tragedy like this happens, the family back in the Pacific is not left destitute.
“Whether that is taking out life insurance for all 30,000 workers or whether it would be the government [setting] aside a fund, that when one of these tragedies happens they’re willing to make a payout to the family … there are options that certainly I would hope could be implemented.”
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Murray Watt was contacted for comment.
Mr Foliaki Lokiatui said Mr Koumera had the mandatory health insurance required to do PALM work on Australian shores, which covered the cost of flying his body home to Tanna.
The Koumera-Tapun family lives in a mountainside village called Green Point. (ABC News: Esau Iaruel)
A spokesperson for the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations said all PALM scheme workers were required as part of their visa conditions to have health insurance.
“PALM scheme employers are also required under the PALM scheme deed and guidelines to assist workers in arranging health insurance and accessing health care,” they said.
The department said it did not collect data on the number of PALM workers with life insurance.
Investigation could take years
South Australia Police said a report on Mr Koumera’s death would be prepared for the coroner.
According to rules governing the coroner’s court, a coronial inquest is not guaranteed.
If the court decides to commission an inquest, the family can expect to wait many months — if not years — before it may be heard.
And if a coronial inquest is commissioned only the next of kin will be informed.
In the meantime, Mr Koumera’s family wants closure.
“His family wants to know more about Joe,” Mr Komra said, through a translator.
“The family wants to know about the death of their dad — they want to know what caused him to drown in the river.”
Additional reporting from Esau Iaruel on Tanna Island, Vanuatu.
