Morrison promises backpackers and islanders can stay, incentives for welfare recipients

Backpackers and seasonal workers will be able to exten­d their visas and welfare recipients offered incentives to pick fruit.

Scott Morrison says he is considering expanding the seasonal worker and Pacific labour­ programs Picture: Gary Ramage

Backpackers, Pacific Islanders and seasonal workers will be able to exten­d their visas to stay in Aust­ralia longer and welfare recipients will be offered incentives to join the harvest trail and pick fruit, in a budget package designed to stem a critical labour shortage.

Confirmation of the measures, which will be funded in Tuesday’s budget, comes as Australia’s growers face a workforce gap of nearly 30,000 people by March.

In the first report to put a numbe­r on the horticulture industry’s labour shortfall during the COVID-19 pandemic, EY found growers expected to fill just six out of 10 short-term roles in the next six to 12 months.

The international and state border closures pose the greatest barriers to farmers finding enough casuals to pick and pack Australia’s fruit and vegetables. The Australian understands the Morrison government will remove conditions on visas used by working holidaymakers and other foreign nationals that would ordinarily force them to return home.

The age limit of 30 on the working holidaymaker visa will be scrapped, for example, so people aged 31 and older could continue working in agriculture.

There will also be new incentives for Australians on the Youth ­Allowance to take up farm work.

JobSeeker and Youth Allowance recipients will be encouraged to go into the regions and work on the land, earning up to $300 per fortnight from a farmer before welfare payments are reduced.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the government would “throw the kitchen sink” at the worker shortfall but cautioned: “We can’t raise expectations in the current climate of international travel that we’ll solve the problem entirely, unless Australians are prepared to get up and have a crack.”

Scott Morrison said on Tuesday he was considering expanding the seasonal worker and Pacific labour­ programs and promised to “soon” announce how his government would relieve the shortage.

Of the 456 stakeholder groups and farmers interviewed for EY’s seasonal horticulture labour demand­ and workforce study, commissioned by Horticulture Innovation Australia and obtained by The Australian, 81 per cent thought they would experience a casual labour force gap in the next six to 18 months.

“Current scenario projections indicate that the casual labour gap will increase from November (20) 20 and reach a peak in March 21 likely to represent a gap ranging between ­20,000 (and) 26,000 roles,” EY’s analysis says. “This would represent a 36-59 per cent labour supply shortage over Nov 20–June 21, this translates to a net gap of 20-33 per cent over … 18 months i.e. only 67–80 out of every 100 casual roles can be filled.”

Victoria and Tasmania are set to experience the worst labour shortage, due to their border closures­ to the rest of the country and high production of labour-intensive products such as table grapes and berries.

The hardest-hit regions included Cairns and Wide Bay in Queensland, northwest Victoria and Shepparton, Coffs Harbour-Grafton and Murray in NSW and South Australia’s south east.

The dire forecast has triggered warnings from farmers of price hikes on fresh produce at Christmas, amid concerns they will be unable to plant their crops or have to let them go to waste if they cannot get more workers on board.

EY said the labour deficit “could be even greater” if the international border was not reopened by March 21.

The international border closure was the leading contributor to the workforce gap, with 35 per cent of respondents saying it would ­impact on them in the next 18 months compared with 30 per cent who blamed the state border restriction­s.

Visa restrictions for seasonal workers and working holidaymakers were also a problem for 23 per cent of farmers, who rely heavily on people from overseas to pick their crops.

They expected 45 per cent of backpackers on working holiday-maker visas would be “missing” from the workforce in the next six to 18 months, as well as 24 per cent of required seasonal workers, 15 per cent of Pacific labour workers and 12 per cent of Australians.

National Farmers’ Federation president Tony Mahar said EY’s report was alarming and must act as a catalyst for governments. “As this report has shown, farmers need immediate solutions to get this year’s crop off,” Mr Mahar told The Australian.

“Such measures should include an urgent prioritisation of the seasonal worker program, a COVID-safe restart of the working holidaymaker program and the introduction of effective incentives for Australians interested in farm work.”

AUSVEG chief executive James Whiteside urged the Morrison government to prioritise the seasonal worker program and resume flights from neighbouring countries with a ready and willing workforce.

More than 160 mango pickers from Vanuatu arrived earlier this month under a trial for the Pacifi­c labour scheme.

“All states and territories, except­ Western Australia, have opted in to restart the seasonal worker program, but there continues to be a slow, drawn-out process to deliver flights with workers from nations such as Tonga and Papua New Guinea to fill critical farm labour short­ages from the domestic labour market and the decline in working holidaymakers in Australia,” Mr Whiteside said.

“Growers always have a preference to employ local workers … more needs to be done to develop­ targeted incentive packages to entice willing and able local workers to work on farms.”