I suspect that state governments are heavily underwriting Pacific worker schemes with those costs hidden from the public. I doubt there is enough profit in fruit picking to charter long distance aircraft and rent quarantine accommodation for a fortnight. In some cases hire air conditioned coaches to take workers from the accommodation to the farm.

Perhaps the horticulturists donate thousands to political parties and get millions back in return. Politicians who champion the free market seem to have no qualms about spending taxpayers money to 'prove' how well the system works.

With 10.5% youth unemployment, there us no reason to import workers. Get lazy, spoilt Australian brats to work. No work, no money.

taswegian: "Politicians who champion the free market seem to have no qualms about spending taxpayers money to 'prove' how well the system works."

But farm labour wages are NOT an example of the free market. Under the free market while it is true that there is no minimum wage, it also true that there is no maximum wage. Farmers tend to think that the minimum wage is also a maximum wage. But in a true free market the price of labour is set by the supply meeting demand. If the demand is higher than supply (like it already was before the pandemic- hence the reason for the working holiday visas schemes which the pandemic routed) then the wage that a farmer pays should be increased to make the job or attractive to workers so that supply of labour increases.
What farmers really mean when they say there is a shortage of labour is that there is a shortage of labour at the rate they want to pay.
But to this idea of paying more (a strange and foreign idea to many farmers) a whingeing farmer will say that they will not be able to make a profit and they will go broke. But under a free market system then this exactly what is meant to happen! The inefficient farmers will go broke and their assets can then either a) be bought by the efficient farmers who can make a profit in a free market, or b) the assets will be purchased by some smart business minded person who will re-purpose them to different type business where they can make a profit.

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If you want an examples of economies based on free market principles look at the wealthy Northern European countries like Norway, Sweden and Denmark. All of the these countries have NO minimum national wage (Germany did as well not so long ago). The price of labour is mainly set by the employees (usually via representation) negotiating with the employers- the government has no say in it. However, once agreements are reached the government uses it's power to enforce them. In addition they also have very few government handouts/bail-out for business, if your business can't make a profit in these countries it will go bust.

An example of a country that is very far from a free market economy is the USA.

You do miss one fact thinkabit. Under a free market there is not the tax payer paying bludgers a living wage to stay at home, sitting on their broadening ass doing nothing, rather than do the work on offer.

ttbn is right, give these bludgers an address where work is available, & a ticket to get there, & cut their dole on the spot. No work, no dole, when people are crying out for labour.

Then we would see a free market system, where lazy bums could chose the highest payer, but not chose none.

Maybe? But first, they need to endure a full fortnight of island quarantine then be allowed to stay and work the circuit for three consecutive years! minus the middleman labour-hire companies! I can see no valid reason why a farmer's workers cannot be accommodated on-farm or trucked on to the very next client by the current farmer!?

I see a time not too far ahead when many cash trapped folk will have their homes foreclosed on! And be virtually forced on to the road and towed caravans? It will be these future itinerants that could easily replace ASEAN workers and won't be as difficult given no language barrier. And could form a cohort of work for the dole and allow a higher non-taxd threshold as farm labour! This would include hope, self-esteem, a future and folk ready willing and able to report rogue employers!

Getting the paper shuffling profit demanding middleman out of the economy would halve the cost of living and doing business in this country! And it beggars belief, why our governments still tolerate it? Or that that occurs because too many of the aforementioned, have skin in the game!?
Alan B.