YOUR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
vegetablesWA
CEO’s Report T
BY JOHN SHANNON CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, VEGETABLESWA
his time last year I could never have predicted the turn of events we’ve witnessed in 2020. The implications of COVID-19 on our industry has been immeasurable, but through it all you have kept supermarket shelves lined with the very best fresh produce Western Australians expect. As an industry we had to adapt fast and I couldn’t be prouder of the resilience you’ve shown. As the virus entered WA in February we were thrust into quarantine and immediately faced uncertainty around key inputs such as labour, chemicals and fertiliser.
As we braced for the worst, demand for fresh WA vegetables actually increased as the public sought to improve their health by increasing their consumption of local produce. We are arguably the luckiest of all states, having avoided community spread of COVID-19 since April 11. And while national borders are opening, and we welcome the freedoms we have become accustomed to here in Australia, access to labour remains one of the biggest challenges our industry has faced. Backpacker numbers have reduced by almost 60 per cent since the start of the pandemic. The workforce simply does not exist in Australia, at this point in time.
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WA Grower SUMMER 2020
We don’t have enough workers for our farms to operate at pre-COVID capacity and it is taking its toll. Labour has been, and remains, the top priority for me and the entire vegetablesWA team. At the start of November, all major Australian states had restarted the Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme, and most had plane loads of workers either on the ground or scheduled to arrive.
Our labour scheme facilitator, Melissa Denning, has worked tirelessly to make this happen. She has been relentless in bringing hort industry members, Federal and State government departments together to keep the wheels turning in the labour space.
Merry Christmas and safe New Year.
We had been actively lobbying to get these programmes reengaged, so it was a great relief when the McGowan Government announced we would be following suit here in WA.
I sent out a press release urgently calling on the WA Government to finalise quarantine arrangements and initially there were discussions about workers from Vanuatu completing quarantine at the Northern Territory, Howard Springs facility. In late November we celebrated the news that two plane loads of workers had been secured and will fly directly into WA.
3 DEMAND for fresh WA vegetables increased as the public sought to improve their health.
We have a long way to go, but flights carrying workers from Vanuatu are confirmed to arrive in Perth in late December and early January.
We will continue to keep you updated as more information comes to hand, but I really encourage you to contact Melissa if you would like to find out more information about the Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the vegetablesWA team for their hard work over the past year. To growers and stakeholders, I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and safe New Year. MORE INFORMATION John Shannon, phone 0488 111 526 or email john.shannon@vegetableswa.com.au
