Coronavirus: new jobless urged to try the land

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has urged newly unemployed Australians to consider going to work on the land.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud. Picture: AAP

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has urged newly unemployed Australians to consider going to work on the land, supplementing backpackers and Pacific Island farm workers whose numbers can’t be replenished because of COVID-19 travel bans.

The government will this week unveil new visa extensions and relaxed requirements for working holidaymakers and Pacific workers already in Australia, to ensure they are available to pick crops.

Mr Littleproud said the nation was easily self-sufficient in food, producing enough to feed 75 million people, but he said primary producers would face workforce challenges because of their reliance on foreign labour.

“This is the opportunity for Australians to engage with our historic roots and embrace it and take hold of it, and obviously to be part of something very important to our nation’s security in these trying times,” he told The Australian.

“We’ve got to understand there are new jobs in agriculture. Agriculture is sexy again, and there are a number of opportunities from the farm gate all the way through.’’

Jobs ranged from picking fruit and vegetables to packing and farmhand roles, he said.

About 145,000 backpackers and 8000 Pacific Island workers are in the country. About 30 per cent of backpackers typically work on farms, but more are expected to seek work on the land as foreign bartenders, waiters and other workers made redundant by corona­virus shutdowns look for any jobs they can get.