Critical mango workers set to arrive in the NT from Vanuatu within days after significant hurdles cleared

A CONTINGENT of Vanuatu seasonal workers have been cleared to travel to the Northern Territory, with their arrival coming at a critical time as warmer weather hits the Top End.

• NT’s Vanuatu mango picking workforce under threat as Pacific nation yet to sign off on program
• NT mango farmers worried inexperienced workforce may harm crops
• Overseas workforce set to come to Northern Territory mango farmers’ rescue

A CONTINGENT of Vanuatu seasonal workers have been cleared to travel to the Northern Territory, with their arrival coming at a critical time as warmer weather hits the Top End.

The federal government’s pilot program to bring Vanuatu locals to work here during the NT’s mango season hit a bureaucratic roadblock last week after the Vanuatu government said it was still deliberating on whether or not it would allow its citizens to fly over to Australia, claiming most of its ministers were against the plan.

But this was smoothed over yesterday, with NT Farmers chief executive Paul Burke confirming a total of 162 Vanuatu locals had been cleared to fly into the Territory arriving tomorrow morning.

MORE BUSINESS NEWS

Luxury Waterfront Hotel in doubt as works suspended for 12 months

Darwin property values grow while Sydney’s and Melbourne’s decline

Darwin port lease in need of ‘critical’ review: Albanese

Mr Burke said it had been a “huge” process involving a dozen federal and Territory departments, the Vanuatu government and unprecedented pandemic-time health and logistic processes.

There have been no coronavirus cases in Vanuatu to date.

The trial is expected to cost the NT Farmers Association $2500 per person for quarantine plus close to $100,000 for a charter flight.

Mr Burke said the timeline “had always been an ambitious one” but the work of getting the critical workers here, which began in April, was almost done.

“They are coming just at the right time … now this weather is starting to heat up the mangoes will come to ripen quite quickly,” he said.

NT Senator Sam McMahon said a “hell of a lot of work” had been involved in trying to get the program across the line and was now hopeful that the program would pave the way for more seasonal workers to come into the NT.

OFFER EXTENDED: Subscribe to the NT News for just $1

NT’s mango industry needs more than 2000 seasonal workers to pick the annual crop, which injects on average $120m into the economy each year.