Coronavirus NSW: Online portal launched to connect jobseekers with farm work
Aussies have been branded “soft and lazy”, as the state’s farmers warn a COVID backpacker drought will see fruit go unpicked and prices hiked.
NSW
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Farmers struggling with a lack of short-term staff fuelled by the COVID-19 backpacker drought are set to benefit from a new state government portal connecting jobseekers to regional work.
It comes as Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall called for “absolute freedom of movement for agriculture workers” amid COVID-19 border restrictions to ensure crops are picked and food gets to the table.
Dialling up the pressure on his own government to ease restrictions, Mr Marshall even said that he doesn’t think his cabinet colleagues are “fully aware” of the problems the travel permit system is causing at the border.
In a move to address the COVID farm staff drought, the state government is launching the “Help Harvest NSW” online hub to get more Australians out to the bush for well-paid, short-term work.
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It comes after COVID-19 border closures slashed the number of working holiday visa holders in Australia by almost 40 per cent by the end of June.
Nationwide, there’s a shortage of “close to 50,000” short term farm workers, Mr Marshall said, warning a lack of fruit pickers could see the price of produce skyrocket.
The new state government website will help people find work picking fruit, harvesting grain or working on a cattle station.
“After three years or more of drought, this is the first big crop that we‘ve had,” Mr Marshall said
“We‘d hate to miss out on that just for the lack of workforce.”
The online portal will also help farmers navigate the changing conditions that are being brought in to combat the spread of COVID-19.
It comes as Nationals MPs including the Deputy Premier call for border restrictions to be revisited to help farmers and communities that straddle state lines.
Mr Marshall has promised to keep campaigning within cabinet until agriculture workers have “absolute freedom of movement”.
“If we don‘t, we’re just unnecessarily crippling the ag sector at one of the most crucial times,” he said.
Orchardist Fiona Hall needs about 200 workers to pick and pack cherries at her farm near Orange. Across all growers in the district, “a couple of thousand” workers are needed for the upcoming harvest season, she said.
Usually, 80 per cent of her workers are backpackers, but now she is targeting school leavers for potential work.
“We‘re going to need a lot more Australians, but you know it’s not the typical work for Australians like doing,” she said.
That’s despite cherry picking work worth “a couple of hundred dollars” per day.
Mr Marshall suggested more Australians should “stop being so soft and say lazy and get out there and do some work”.
“Get off your rear ends and have a go,” he laughed.