The myth that Australians don’t want to pick fruit has been explosively discredited in Parliament, with over 7000 Australians taking on seasonal farm work in past few years.
The AgMove program, launched at the end of 2020, offers Australians up to $2000 to cover relocation costs after two weeks of seasonal labour. Workers also receive an additional $4000 after four weeks’ work.
Over 7000 Australians have taken part, with an average of $1600 claimed per worker.
AWU ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Secretary Daniel Walton says these numbers debunk the idea that Australians won’t work on farms.
“The ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾s and their mates in the farming lobby have said for years that without migrant workers, their horticultural industry would fail.”
“Despite the pandemic, and the so-called labour shortage as the borders closed, growers saw two successive years of record production and profits.”
“2022 is on track to be another record year, so to say that the industry actually needs more short-term visas then we currently have to survive is simply untrue.”
Mr Walton also takes issue with the industry’s constant exploitation of short-term migrant workers. “Bringing in even more workers on a new visa won’t fix the ongoing exploitation of these workers.”
“When there is a genuine need for additional labour on our farms, we should look to long-term, secure migration with checks and balances like the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme.”
“While the PALM scheme has issues, it does hold employers responsible for the well-being of their workers. Every worker deserves to be paid and treated fairly.”
The figures emerged as ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ ministers continued to blame the AWU and their Coalition partners for the failure of the ill-fated Ag Visa. First announced in July last year, the Ag Visa has failed to sign up a single partner nation, with the Philippines withdrawing completely from negotiations.
“Our Asean neighbours have very real concerns about exploitation and abuse, reported by their own citizens, and exposed in the government’s own inquiries and reports.”
“Instead of Liberal and ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ ministers pointing fingers and blaming each other, they should take a good look at how the exploitation in our farming industry has become our national shame,” Mr Walton says.
