Seasonal workers arrive from Vanuatu to help fill Top End fruit picking jobs

TOP End farmers are breathing a sigh of relief with the arrival of 160 fruit pickers from Vanuatu in Darwin today to help fill local jobs that are going begging

Mango workers arrive in the Northern Territory ahead of the mango picking season. They are to enter mandatory quarantine for two weeks before hitting the farms. Picture: Che Chorley

• Seasonal workers arrive in Darwin to help fill farm job positions

TOP End farmers are breathing a sigh of relief with the arrival of 160 fruit pickers from Vanuatu in Darwin today.

The overseas workers arrived on the first international flight to Darwin carrying passengers — who were not repatriating to Australia — and are the first of around 600 bound for the Top End.

The workers, many who have been coming to Darwin for the past three years as seasonal fruit pickers, looked in good spirits as they departed their chartered flight from Port Vila and walked across the Darwin International Airport tarmac waving to onlookers.

The workers will spend the next 14 days at the Howard Springs quarantine facility before taking up their jobs on various Top End farms.

NT Farmers Association chief executive Paul Burke said the organisation had run an extensive campaign to try to attract locals to fill the jobs.

Mr Burke said they had also tried engaging the local refugee centre and students from Charles Darwin University.

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The seasonal workers from Vanuatu will be in Australia for nine months.

Mr Burke said they would first support the Territory’s agriculture industry with picking, packing and pruning, and then have the opportunity to travel to Katherine, Kununurra in Western Australia, North Queensland, Bowen and Bundaberg to work.