Cotton Australia wants federal politicians to “swiftly pass” the bill to fix the controversial tax.

The Bill, which was due to be introduced into Federal Parliament this week, would tax working holiday makers at 19 per cent, a fairer rate than the 32.5 per cent originally proposed by the Australian Government.

"The original Backpacker Tax was so high it would have scared backpackers away, disadvantaging Australian industries competing for seasonal labour and creating enormous problems for industries sourcing seasonal workers," said Cotton Australia general manager, Michael Murray.

"After months and months of debate, we were pleased the Government finally listened to farmers and tourism operators and reduced the tax rate for backpackers, making us more competitive against countries like New Zealand and Canada, and giving growers some confidence they can source labour at critical periods in the season."

Deputy Prime Minister  Barnaby Joyce, said there had been months and months of consultation with industry to resolve the issue in the best interests of our farmers and the economy.

“The Coalition Government is calling on the Opposition to get behind the widely supported cuts to the proposed backpacker tax rate from 32.5 per cent to 19 per cent, to provide much needed certainty for stakeholders,” Mr Joyce said.

Mr Joyce noted that Labor still had a 32.5 per cent backpacker tax rate in its official election costings; and still standing as its official policy.

“Over the last few months the Coalition has consulted and worked with the agricultural and tourism sectors to bring this issue to a satisfactory resolution,” he said. 

“What was Labor doing all that time, it was simply 100 days of inaction,” Mr Joyce asked.

He said the Coalition Government understood Australia’s Working Holiday Maker program provided a vital source of labour, particularly across the agriculture and tourism sectors.