The Muster
l THE GREAT DEBATE
The agricultural visa we had to have After years of lobbying, the federal government has announced a new dedicated agricultural visa for workers from ASEAN countries. But will it be enough to fill the current backpacker void?
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Words DAVE SMITH
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n May, Stephen Howes, a professor of economics at the Australian National University, told The Farmer Canberra would not bring in a dedicated agricultural visa – no matter how bad the farm labour shortage problem got. “If an agricultural scheme is introduced, all the farm jobs in Australia currently available to Pacific Islanders will be taken by workers from Asia. And that is not a price I think Canberra is willing to pay,” Mr Howes said at the time. But only one month later, the Federal Government announced a new agricultural visa (ag visa) will be offered to workers from the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries – Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Brunei and Cambodia – before the end of the year. Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud says the number of workers from ASEAN countries entering Australia on the new visa would “be driven by the industry,” and that the Pacific Labour Scheme would be reviewed to reduce its regulatory burden and make it more responsive.
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THE FARMER
SEP - OCT 2021
The ag visa is a concession after the scrapping of a condition for the working holiday visas granted to the 10,000 British backpackers who normally visit Australia every year that previously forced them to work for at least 88 days on a farm. This change was part of a landmark new Free Trade Agreement with the UK that will eventually give Australian farmers and food manufacturers tariff-free and quota-free access to the British market. (Read more on pages 82-85.) NSW Farmers has long advocated for an ag visa and the pandemic-induced travel restrictions has intensified the need for long-term solutions to address farm labour shortages, but is this ASEAN proposal from Minister Littleproud the answer? Guy Gaeta, a cherry and apple farmer near Orange who, as NSW Farmers Horticultural Committee chair, has been lobbying the Federal Government for an ag visa for three and a half years, is over the moon. “It’s a godsend,” he says. “Last year we just managed to get through our harvest but now we’re coming into harvest in September and
we need people again – the whole industry needs people starting at the summer for six months. If farmers don’t get help quickly, we are going to start seeing shortages of foods like strawberries.” “We don’t know all the finer details yet, like when it will start, who pays for quarantine – but I would gladly pay for the quarantine of 20 agricultural visa holders right now.” Tyson Cattle at AUSVEG, the peak body for vegetable growers, voiced similar sentiments. “The horticulture industry has been calling for a dedicated and productive workforce to harvest and package fruit and vegetables for many years, so this announcement is great news for the sector,” he says. “But what we need now is timely action to get this visa class up and running, so that we can start bringing in workers as soon as possible when borders open up and international workers can enter the country.” The National Farmers’ Federation Horticulture Council says it is welcome news that has been a long time coming. “But we’ll be forgiven for being a little cynical, having heard similar announcements
PICKERS CAN BE CHO O SERS
Guy Gaeta (pictured above) says that the ag visa will make it easy for people who want to come to Australia to stay for nine months, but who currently have to go home for three months and then come back. He says it'll only be available to those who want to work in agriculture.
