Ag visa: Victorian, Federal governments in spat over seasonal worker quarantine

Governments are going head-to-head over quarantine arrangements for farm workers. And Victorian farmers are caught in the crossfire.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is under pressure to approve an extension to quarantine plans for seasonal workers. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Victoria and the Commonwealth are locked in another spat over quarantine arrangements for harvest workers, as the clock ticks for farmers wanting to secure staff ahead of the busy summer period.

Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud on Wednesday urged the state to get a move on approving its plans to extend its Pacific Island seasonal worker arrangements, before the initial 1500 places are filled at the start of the October – just as Victoria’s harvest starts to ramp up.

A proposed extension to the program – which sees workers quarantine in Tasmania before coming to Victoria – is understood to have been awaiting State Government sign-off for the past fortnight; no explanation has been provided for the delay.

“If Victorian farmers are to be able to access sufficient labour for harvest it is critical that Victoria put in place a quarantine arrangement as quickly as possible,” Mr Littleproud wrote, in a letter seen by The Weekly Times.

It comes after Premier Daniel Andrews’ rubbished the Federal Government’s new agriculture visa as “a fantasy”, and said states had not been consulted about it.

“I say to Minister Littleproud, if you know of some unlimited quarantine facility somewhere, please let me know about it and we will be sure to use it,” he said on Tuesday.

The state’s agriculture minister, Mary Anne Thomas, said the ag visa announcement was “meaningless” without details of a quarantine pathway, and would create false hope for farmers. 

Quarantine arrangements for foreign agricultural workers have been a touchy subject throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Commonwealth wants to double the number of Pacific Islanders coming to Australia under its seasonal worker scheme by March next year, as well as introduce the new ag visa for the Uk and ASEAN nations, to help address the predicted 24,000 shortfall in horticulture workers.

But as per national cabinet agreements, state governments are responsible for organising the workers’ quarantine, arrangements for which differ from state to state. Workers are allowed on top of the states’ international arrival caps, but there does need to be space for them to quarantine.

Victoria had arranged for up to 1500 workers to quarantine in Tasmania before entering the state; that quota will be filled by the end of September, leaving workers and employers wanting to make plans beyond that date in limbo.

Mr Littleproud wrote to Mr Andrews on Wednesday, calling on him to extend the arrangement as soon as possible, noting Tasmania had already offered funding to continue the shared quarantine plan.

Mr Littleproud also called for Victoria to consider alternatives such as extra capacity in hotel quarantine or Queensland’s on-farm arrangements, as well as guaranteeing space for ag workers in the new Mickleham quarantine facility once built.

Mr Andrews has said he had raised other options in national cabinet, such as a Pacific Island travel bubble or helping to set up Covid-19 testing in participating countries.

“This is not just about issuing visas and then handballing it to state governments who are apparently in charge of quarantine,” Mr Andrews said.

“It will always be limited by the number of quarantine spots we have.”

Mr Littleproud shot back that the scale of demand had not changed since last December, when Mr Andrews “made a strong commitment to supporting Victoria farmers”.

“Therefore the quarantine requirements for agricultural workers have not changed,” he said.

“I would encourage your government to look closely at this additional avenue to secure agricultural workers in light of your public comments yesterday.”