Coronavirus: Growers call for worker bubbles

A desperate horticulture industry has urged Scott Morrison and the states to agree to bring in Pacific Islanders quarantine-free.

Scott Morrison during question time in the House of Representatives. Picture: Gary Ramage

A desperate horticulture industry has urged Scott Morrison and the states to agree at Friday’s national cabinet meeting to bring in Pacific Islanders quarantine-free, warning that the country is on track to meet a labour shortage of 26,000 people by March.

The Prime Minister will meet all chief ministers and premiers except Western Australia’s Mark McGowan for the first face-to-face national cabinet this year and the inaugural national federation reform council, which replaced the Council of Australian Governments.

After spending the week in Canberra lobbying cabinet ministers including Employment Minister Michaelia Cash and Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge, the National Farmers’ Federation horticulture council said growers were feeling extremely isolated and the government’s incentives to engage the domestic workforce to fill agricultural jobs had failed.

The call came after 34 growers registered crop losses worth $22.5m in just one week.

“As an industry we’re sick of the finger pointing between the feds and the states,” NFF horticulture council executive officer Tyson Cattle said.

“All we’re saying is strongly look at and get a COVID-free bubble or ‘green lane’ with Pacific Island nations; get that going. We need numbers at scale.

“We are well on our way to the 26,000 shortage we predicted months ago.

“Jobs will be lost. Harvest jobs are where the supply chain starts.

“What do you need a manager or supervisor or truck driver for if you if you can’t get the fruit and vegetables picked?

“It’s at an absolutely critical stage and we need all heads of government to resolve this. Industry is on its knees and it’s going to get worse.”

Industry sources said some in the government were keen to see more “green lanes”, with New Zealanders able to fly to Australia without having to go into hotel quarantine for nearly two months. They enter through the green lanes, which are kept separate from other overseas arrivals from countries with COVID-19 cases.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said travel and quarantine arrangements were guided by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, comprised of each state and territory chief health officer.

“There are already 22,000 pre-vetted workers in the Pacific and Timor Leste ready and waiting to come to Australia under the recommenced seasonal and Pacific worker schemes once state governments sign off on quarantine plans,” he said.

Treasury secretary Stephen Kennedy is expected to update national cabinet on Australia’s jobs recovery, infrastructure delivery and rural and regional investment, while there will also be a discussion on the vaccine rollout.

Mr Morrison said a vaccine could be available in Australia “a bit earlier” than March but the government was still working towards that timetable.

In the first national federation reform council meeting, job creation will be a priority topic, as will mental health, emergency management and the bushfire royal commission report.

Commonwealth-state reforms will be at the heart of the council, with Mr Morrison using national cabinet as an example of how to improve intergovernmental co-operation and outcomes.