Holdout states told to wave farmers through

Farmers have urged QLD, WA and Tasmania to sign up to a uniform code streamlining the movement of critical agricultural workers across borders during restrictions.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud wears his Maranoa electorate face mask at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

Farmers have urged Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania to join the other states and territor­ies and sign up to a uniform code to streamline the movement of critical agricultural workers across borders where restrictions are in place.

At a national cabinet meeting on Friday, NSW, Victoria, South Australia, the Northern Territory and the ACT agreed to adopt the National Agricultural Workers’ Code. The federal government said the holdout states would “consider the code as part of their border restriction­ arrangements”.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said that “with a bumper crop expected due to improved­ seasonal conditions, today’s decision could not have come at a better time for farmers and agribusinesses” across the five jurisdictions which signed up’’.

“To those states that have not agreed today, I am pleased they will watch their counterparts before­ they consider implementing it in their own jurisdictions,” Mr Littleproud said.

The code adopts a risk-based approach under which permits or an equivalent approval will be applied­ to reduce the risk of COVID-19 being transmitted to regional areas. Workers such as farmers, contract farm hands, agricultural machinery workers and veterinary doctors will only require a single permit to travel across between states which have agreed to adopt the code.

GrainGrowers chairman Brett Hosking welcomed the code.

“It’s really great to see that consistency­ across the five states and territories, and we would encourage­ the others to keep talking and be part of that conversation,” Mr Hosking said. “That harmonisation makes life easier for everyone.”

Queensland’s winter crops will be ready for harvest in the coming two or three weeks, and Mr Hosking said farmers in the Sunshine State relied on southern workers.

“It would have been really good to get Queensland on board, to make sure workers can get up there with their machines to be real­ly sure the Queensland harvest happens in a very timely fashion.”

National Farmers Federation chief executive Tony Mahar welcome­d the initiative, saying it was a “step in the right direction”, although he also expressed dis­appointment that not all of the states and territor­ies had signed up. “It’s crucial that the code provides­ true consistency across states and territories and that it is implemented as soon as possible,” Mr Mahar said.

“Time really is of the essence. Across the country, the farm ­sector is going into its busiest time of the year: the spring shearing season is under way, summer fruits are almost ready for picking and the harvest of a bumper grain crop will start from the end of ­October.”

“It’s our strong hope, given the passage of time and a continuing decrease in active cases, that the outlining states will support the code.”

Scott Morrison said he was pleased at the take-up of the code, arguing that it would reduce problems on the Victorian borders with South Australia and NSW.

The Prime Minister said states that made their own decisions about borders would “obviously need to be ­transparent … about the basis for those decisions”.