WA farmers appeal to port workers to unload farm machinery as family businesses caught up in strike debacle

WA farmers are appealing to port workers on strike to make an exception for urgent farm machinery to be unloaded to avoid a major catastrophe and “jeopardising family businesses” come harvest. Growers and machinery dealerships are looking at spending “tens of millions” to retrieve crucial farm machinery from the east coast after the ships carrying it were caught up in an industrial action debacle this week. Instead of being unloaded and taken to the WA farms which desperately need them, 42 combine harvesters, machinery and parts are en route to Melbourne and Adelaide after three ships were unable to unload in Perth in the past week. It comes as Fremantle Port faces its 70th day of industrial action by Maritime Union of Australia — WA members as they call for a “fair EBA” for port workers. The State’s grain growers have got caught in the crossfire, with crucial machinery for harvest — which has already started for some growers in the north — now thousands of kilometres away. An uproar has ensued amongst farmers, some of which have sold their older gear on the assumption their new machines would be arriving this week. WAFarmers grains section president and Esperance grain grower Mic Fels said at this urgent stage, dealerships who wanted to deliver on promises and farmers desperate for gear might even pick it up themselves. “It will cost tens of millions of dollars in movement under the time constraints,” he said. “You’d never consider doing it if you weren’t forced to.” He said during the past six weeks since the strike started, headers, header fronts and hay equipment have been stuck at the port, but fortunately have now made it onto farms. In the next few weeks, he said, getting parts would be a major issue and they needed to “unblock the pipe ASAP”. Mr Fels appealed to the union to get in touch so they could try to negotiate an agreement to ensure urgent farm machinery was allowed to move through going forward. “We don’t have a beef with MUA and I’m pretty sure they don’t have a beef with us,” Mr Fels said. “It’s small farm businesses who are caught up in this and their whole livelihood is relying on getting this equipment onto the farm. “I’d be more than happy for them to get in contact with us.”