Bob Katter gets down and dirty on the banana farm
Maverick federal MP Bob Katter is a veteran at raising eyebrows, but his latest stunt is one of his most unlikely. And as always it’s to draw attention to a serious issue.
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Bob has officially gone bananas in what might have been an inevitable outcome for the federal MP who for decades has puzzled, outraged and occasionally charmed Australian with his carefully crafted bumpkin persona.
The labour shortage on Australian farms prompted the 75-year-old Bob Katter to offer his services last week to the Gilbert banana farm at Mareeba in far North Queensland, in the hope his example would inspire thousands of young Australians to engage in some hard yakka.
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Mr Katter, ever the showman, roped in the Katter’s Australian Party state candidate for Cook Tanika Parker in a publicity stunt designed to head off possible food shortages this Christmas, as the annual employment pool of fruit-picking backpackers dried up from 220,000 pre-coronavirus, to a predicted 20,000 by next June.
“Some people say I’ve been going bananas for a while now,’’ Mr Katter conceded after lugging banana bunches weighing over 35kg.
“Well, who could blame me?
“There are extraordinary pressures dealing with incompetent Governments _ they can’t even build a single dam.’’
Mr Katter, who has won 10 successive election since entering Federal Parliament in 1993 and given no indication of retirement plans, except to recently suggest he was “’good for another 12 years.’’
Physical labour was so much second nature to him he suspected his efforts may have market ramification.
“There will be a small drop in banana prices around the country due to the surge in production that occurred due to my efforts.’’
Mr Katter’s stunt highlights a serious problem which even the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences is now wrestling with.
The coronavirus has thrown the spotlight of the Australian agricultural sector which has continuing producing and delivering world class product to markets while other sections of the economy crumble.
But ABARE, in recent reports, now predicts seasonal labour availability for the horticultural sector will present challenges over the summer and autumn of 2020–21, even as easing drought conditions point to favourable growing condition for many Australian crops.
“Overseas workers normally supply a significant share of harvest labour, but COVID-19 travel restrictions mean this may not be the case in 2020–21,’’ ABARE says.
ABARE predicts that consumers could pay higher prices at the checkout if labour shortages reduce harvests.
But it also suggests the prospect of higher prices may encourage some producers to increase wages to secure additional domestic labour.
As for Mr Katter, he won’t be carving out a new career in the banana paddock, though he pointed out it has similarities to his regular work environment.
”They get a lot of Taipan snakes on the farm,’’ he noted.
”And there’s a hell of a lot of snakes where I work.’’