Worker delay frustration

A BUSINESS trying to bring Pacific Island pickers to the Burdekin to help relieve pressure on farmers has taken aim at Queensland Health saying the body has made it almost impossible to get approval.

Produce Pickers has been trying to secure approval for the on farm quarantine program since late 2020, but the process has taken weeks longer than it should.

Director David Esler said they were originally told it would take four weeks to approve.

Produce Pickers started the application process in November and still does not have approval to bring Pacific Island workers to the Burdekin under strict quarantine conditions.

Mr Esler said what the Queensland government had done to protect the state from COVID-19 was extraordinary, but there was too much rigmarole involved.

He identified seven areas where the process had been “let down” by Queensland Health: delays to timelines; no guidelines given to public health units; lack of understanding about the size of farms; lack of regard for the cost and impact to farmers; and no case officer for applications.

Mr Esler said he was frustrated by the process.

“We’ve done everything they’ve requested of us,” Mr Esler said.

He added that Produce Pickers now had a preliminary verbal agreement, but nothing concrete, which was pushing back the arrival date of pickers and putgot 5000 workers ting the harvest rate,” Mr Esler said. into jeopardy. State Agriculture Minis

P r o d u c e ter Mark Furner said more Pickers is a busi- than 1000 workers had alness that organ- ready r been brought on to ises workers for r Queensland farms under farmers, includ- the scheme, with hundreds ing travel, transmore m due soon. port, dealing David Esler and his son “The state government with governCameron, 15, who worked in understands the urgency of ments, accommoa packing shed at Christmas. getting more workers on dation and now, farms and we continue to the quarantine process. Mr Esler said work with producers and the wider that everything was already in place industry to facilitate this, including to bring the pickers from the island to with incentives of up to $1500 for Clare and they just needed the go Queensland workers to take up these ahead. jobs,” Mr Furner said.

“We need 10-15,000 just for He said the state and federal govQueensland … so far we’re not on ernments were working closely to track for that. I’d be surprised if we bring pickers to Queensland. at this

But Burdekin MP Dale Last said the delay was a serious issue.

He said with no certainty about how many pickers would be coming to the region, farmers were opting to plant smaller crops.

“Farmers are planning their crops, some farmers are picking their crops,” Mr Last said. “We need this labour in Australia right now.

“If they turn up in September, October, the horse has already bolted.”

Federal Dawson MP George Christensen said the federal agriculture minister was disappointed to hear of the difficulties Produce Pickers had faced in getting approval.

Mr Christensen said a lot of what the company was dealing with was “finicky, pointless, bureaucratic nonsense”.