Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Emma Kealy has called on the Labor government to urgently intervene in Australia’s visa debacle before farmers lose crops and families are hit with even higher grocery prices.
Ms Kealy, who is also Deputy Leader of The Nationals, said farmers had repeatedly warned that visa delays were threatening their ability to secure the skilled workers needed for harvest.
“This is the third time I have raised the alarm, and still our farmers are waiting for action,” Ms Kealy said.
“Harvest doesn’t wait for Canberra. When hay is ready to bale and grain is ready to harvest, farmers need skilled workers on the ground and machinery moving.
“If they can’t get those workers because visas are sitting in a bureaucratic queue, crops can be damaged or lost and farmers can lose hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars.
“And this is only the beginning. Horticulture will be next, where delays can mean fruit and vegetables are left to rot instead of making it onto supermarket shelves.
“That means less Australian food getting to market and more pressure on grocery prices for families already struggling with the cost of living.”
While visa policy was a Federal Labor responsibility, Ms Kealy said Victoria’s Agriculture Minister had a responsibility to stand up for Victorian farmers.
“Michaela Settle cannot simply say this is Canberra’s problem. She is Victoria’s Agriculture Minister and her job is to stand up for Victorian agriculture.
“She should be on the phone to her federal Labor colleagues today demanding these visa delays are fixed and agricultural workers are prioritised.
“Farmers have planned their crops, found their workers and done everything asked of them. They should not lose their harvest because government bureaucracy can’t process visas in time.
“Cost of living keeps rising under Labor, and this is why. We just need Labor bureaucrats to get out of the way so we can get the workers onto our farms and Victorian food can be harvested and put onto Australian supermarket shelves.
“Every day that Labor waits, there is a greater risk of even higher supermarket prices.
“Minister Settle needs to act now, before farmers lose their harvest and Victorian families are left paying the price.”
