Abolishing the scheme will be a major policy blunder
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| By: Murray HunterAustralia’s renewed attention to the South Pacific islands in its neighborhood, jolted into existence by Chinese competition in the Solomon Islands, is causing collateral problems in its domestic agricultural labor situation. The new Labor government that came into power in May has announced it would more islanders into its work visa program while scrapping a similar scheme for migrant ASEAN farm workers. Australia is now facing chronic agricultural worker shortages on farms and other rural food processing industries. The national Farmers Federation estimates that around 26,000 more workers are urgently needed to cover immediate shortfalls, and more than 100,000 more workers over the intermediate term to enable agricultural sector growth. Australia’s food security is now under a direct threat, with the viability of local food production facing major challenges. The agricultural labour shortage was present before the Covid-19 pandemic, with Australian borders closed off to the rest of the world. The Russian invasion of Ukraine war disrupted agriculture worldwide. Unlike many other parts of the world, any easing of inflation and normalization of supply chains won’t have much positive flow-on effect in Australia if labor remains chronically short…
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