I have never worked in the fruit or vegetable picking. We were out of work once and could not find anything at the same time newspaper were saying farmers could not get workers. The essence was that people did not want to do this work. So we went around applying but nothing was available. Eventually found out that they really did not want Australian workers because it was too expensive and the accusation Australians did not want to work was to promote the case for migrant farmworkers which are cheaper. We were up around Emerald way and came across an agency caravan of migrant workers. They had little English language but enough to learn they were paid $30 after deduction for travel cost, agency fees,food and accommodation. I wrote to the government and said something appears wrong and the reply I received was that at the time no crops were at maturity and that was the reason we could not get work. The exploitation angle was not addressed.

However it does get worse. There is a group called wwoofers. Tourism in North Queensland use this agency or the same concept that rewards backpackers with an experience instead of any financial compensation at all. So they provide a free dive or a free stay on a farm in exchange for work. However even worse again is that many use the same service when they are not even in business. I know one person who had his house renovated with backpacker labour in exchange for free room on his acreage. The only crop I know this person to grow can be called organic and even commercial but hardly legal if you get my drift.

Meanwhile we struggle with 14% unemployment. Perhaps in the argument of national interest we need farming so subsiding has to be considered as the alternate is simply not acceptable.

Hasbeen

If all or even most growers faced the same problems as your tomato grower, then they would all be hanging on by the skin of their teeth and the market price of fruit, veges and other crops would rising rapidly. This is not the case because most growers make a decent living at current market prices and most provide reasonable working conditions and pay proper wages to those they employ. But not all.

I hear that in Bundaberg it is not uncommon for backpackers seeking employment to be told that if they are not staying at a hostel, they will not be employed. Yet if they stay at a hostel, which in Bundaberg is not cheap, there is absolutely no guarantee that they will be picked by management for a job.

What is wrong with farmers being required to offer employment through the government employment agency rather than an exclusive arrangement with a particular hostel? Why should local people be refused picking jobs because they live locally sand don’t stay at hostels?