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Farmers see surge in job applications from cities
Elizabeth Gracie
A rise in unemployment rates stemming from the COVID 19 pandemic has resulted in an increased number of newly-unemployed city workers looking for jobs on regional farms across the country.
Northern Territory Farmers Association Chief Executive Paul Burke said that “In the first few days after the shutdown of hospitality and much of retail, we received over 122 enquiries for work and these came from a cross section of all the community.”
He further noted that, “we do think our industry does have an opportunity to be able to provide a glimmer of hope for some of those people who have lost their jobs”, however this too has its own hurdles that must be overcome.
Burke notes that the fruit and vegetable industry needs to overcome obstacles around accommodation and transport in relation to social distancing, and develop clear guidelines around COVID-19 as a matter of priority before new workers arrive.
The additional quarantine measures being enforced by the NT government will also serve to protect vulnerable regional communities and protect Australia's agricultural sector.
The Territory Government has also launched a website to match job seekers in the Northern Territory with employment opportunities in the agricultural sector. Burke believes the other states would be wise to follow.
The many Australians that are looking to secure employment are also doing so at the expense of the backpackers and seasonal international workers who usually fill those positions. This also brings in the ethical considerations of farmers to support international workers who are not eligible for emergency income payments or support local workers who are in the throes of unemployment.
Trevor Whittington, CEO of WA Farmers Association said that for job applicants there was a clear lack of seasonality or skill sets needed for agricultural work. In Western Australia alone there are “less than 30,000 full time jobs in agriculture, many of them skilled and semi skilled to support the broadacre grains and livestock acres”.
“Overall while there is a growing pool of Australians and backpackers seeking work the reality is there are limited jobs and most of the Australian unemployed won't be interested in the short term and itinerant nature of fruit picking in remote communities like Carnarvon and Kununurra”, says Whittington.
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