Call for job seekers to head north as payment extended

JobSeeker payments are set to continue, but one Bowen farmer another solution for the unemployed.

Bowen Gumlu Growers Association president Carl Walker said there were plenty of picking jobs in the region for those looking for work. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

A BOWEN farmer has called on the government to provide more incentives for job seekers to move north after JobSeeker payments for unemployed Australians were extended.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced an extension to the Federal Government's JobSeeker unemployment benefit until March 2021.

The scheme was originally set to end in December but will now continue at a decreased rate, dropping from $815 a fortnight to $715 a fortnight.

The end date for the JobSeeker payment extension is now in line with the JobKeeper payment, which provides support for businesses heavily impacted by coronavirus to retain staff.

Bowen Gumlu Growers Association president Carl Walker said it was frustrating the payment meant some people were earning more for not working than they would be if they were employed.

President of the Bowen Gumlu Growers Association Carl Walker with Queensland Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner with Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Japan, Mr Susumu Hamamura, and Consul-General Mr Kazunari Tanaka.

It comes alongside reports Queensland's unemployment rate would drop drastically in key regions if jobless Australian's took up fruit picking jobs.

"Any person who has lost their job in 2020, I can understand they need all of the assistance they can get because it will be a tough adjustment for them," he said.

"But anyone who has been long-term unemployed should never get a pay rise and never get a thank you for not wanting to get off their bum.

"The government should be looking at doing concessions for anyone who moves to and works in regional and rural communities to help us with our enormous, enormous, enormous lack of willing workers.

"The regional and rural communities are having a really tough time where they cannot find enough workers, and that's workers in everything from picking to packing to driving trucks to doing electrical work; everything."

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The Federal Government is offering a $6000 relocation grant to those who take up a job in short-term agricultural work.

Mr Walker argued the money from extending JobSeeker would be better spent on low paid workers, saying they were more likely to spend the extra cash on boosting the economy.

He also said the weight of the nation's debt would fall on the shoulders of industry in regional and rural communities and would need more support to continue.

Several schemes have been floated to help bolster the picking workforce in the region, including a recently launched marketing scheme aimed at school leavers.

Mr Walker said it was crucial to maintain "the triangle" of Australians, Pacific Islanders and backpackers to help keep farms viable over the coming years.

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