State Government to fly in workers from Vanuatu but wants JobSeeker incentives to attract unemployed

More than 300 Vanuatu workers should arrive in Perth by early January to help the State’s embattled fruit and vegetable growers harvest their crops. WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan said the State Government was on the brink of finalising two plane loads of workers to arriveon December 20 and January 7, where they would quarantine inhotels for two weeks, paid for by their employers. While this would help plug the labour shortage in WA, Ms MacTiernan expressed frustration that the Morrison Government was not doing more to attract the unemployed into seasonal agriculture work. She said the issue was raised by all State Agriculture Ministers with their Federal counterpart David Littleproud at today’s AgMin hookup — the first in 10 months. “I explained we need to have some concessions with JobSeeker,” she said. “And their $6000 Move to the Regions (relocation assistance) wasn’t working because it’s a very blunt instrument not designed to address people on an employment benefit. “The Commonwealth scheme is more designed for someone who wants to move to a region for the rest of their life, rather than getting a short-term response from the unemployed to get out and help with the harvest.” Ms MacTiernan said State Agriculture Ministers supported the Commonwealth’s provision of quicker access to the Youth Allowance for students who completed three months of seasonal work. “But if prepared to do that, why not try to break the back of this thing and also give people on JobSeeker an incentive?,” she said. She said the States had pitched in, citing WA’s provision of a $40 a night accommodation allowance for up to 12 weeks, and an additional travel rebate of up to $500 for those moving more than 100km from home. “We (State Agriculture Ministers) made that point (about JobSeeker) quite forcefully, but (Mr Littleproud’s) point was this wasn’t his portfolio,” Ms MacTiernan said. “He said to get our Premiers to take it up with the Prime Minister at National Cabinet, which of course we have done. We are in a cycle and are not making progress on that one.” Ms MacTiernan saidministers on yesterday’s AgMin hookup also wanted to discuss the souring relationship between Canberra and Beijing, which had resulted in sanctions on a sweeping range of Australian agriculture products. WA exports to China of barley, wine and lobsters have all been impacted. “I did attempt to raise this. We were all interested in China relations, but the response from Mr Littleproud was it was a matter for first Ministers, not Agriculture Ministers,” she said. “We all understand there are Cabinet processes but generally speaking it (AgMin hookup) was not what I would call a productive meeting.”