Tongan seasonal workers to arrive in St George to quarantine, harvest onion and garlic crops

On-farm quarantine arrangements have been arranged for dozens of international workers in southwest Queensland, in a last-ditch effort to harvest crops before they turn.

In a first for remote regional areas of Queensland, on-farm quarantine arrangements at St George have been approved for seasonal workers from Tonga.

Department of Agriculture and Fisheries’ Peter Donaghy said 34 seasonal workers were arriving at a crucial time to harvest significantly-sized onion and garlic crops.

“These workers will provide much needed relief and support for growers in this remote region of Queensland,” Mr Donaghy said.

“This is the first time a cohort of seasonal workers has been approved to work in the St George area as the department works to support the agriculture industry.

Seasonal workers from Tonga will arrive in St George to quarantine and work. Picture: Colin Murty/The Australian

“As maintaining public health is a priority, stringent conditions and a strict compliance regime are in place to protect the community.

“Being able to successfully and safely accommodate seasonal workers in remote areas of Queensland is of great importance as we unite and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Mr Donaghy said the approval of on-farm quarantine arrangements for workers was a tribute to the hard work of many people across several government and health organisations.

The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries have worked with multiple government organisations to bring these workers to help St George’s agricultural industry.

“Providing the workers required by the agriculture sector while simultaneously keeping the community safe is particularly challenging, especially in remote areas of Queensland,” Mr Donaghy said.

“So far, Queensland has successfully brought in 3680 … workers from Pacific Island nations with the lowest risk of Covid-19 transmission to work in the state’s agricultural businesses, with 2294 of those workers having successfully completed on-farm quarantining,” he said.

“The department has further supported the agriculture industry through a range of initiatives including the PickQld initiative, and the Queensland Agricultural Workforce Network Local Solutions initiative.”