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Katie Woolf spoke with NT Farmers CEO Paul Burke · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hello, katiewoll Van three point sixty online at Mix one
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  Speaker 1: O four nine dot com.
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  Speaker 2: It is just after ten twenty eight nine four one
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  Speaker 2: one O four nine if you'd like to call through
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: today now. If you listen to this show regularly, you'd
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: know that we've spoken on numerous occasions about the very
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  Speaker 2: serious situation that our farmers are in at the moment,
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  Speaker 2: particularly those in the mango industry who really need to
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  Speaker 2: get a workforce across to the territory to be able
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  Speaker 2: to pick and pack our mangoes. And joining us on
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  Speaker 2: the line to give us a bit of an update
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  Speaker 2: on where this situation is at is nt Farmer's CEO
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  Speaker 2: Paul Burke, Good morning, Paul.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning, Katie, Good morning listeners.
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  Speaker 2: Mat Are we any closer to being able to see
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  Speaker 2: some of these workers come across and quarantine in the territory.
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  Speaker 1: Sadly, we are no closer. It's getting to the critical
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  Speaker 1: stage now where we need a decision out of all
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  Speaker 1: levels of government of where we're going to quarantine people.
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  Speaker 1: We heard in estimates earlier in the week at Blaydon
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  Speaker 1: Point is highly unlikely, So we are struggling to understand
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  Speaker 1: where we're going to be able to quarantine people and
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  Speaker 1: we're back to having discussions about trying to get into
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  Speaker 1: Howard Springs. Now we know that facility is gold standard
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  Speaker 1: and we're utilized that facility in the past, so we're
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  Speaker 1: really calling on all levels of government now to make
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  Speaker 1: better reality.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, we look, we spoke about it on Friday during
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  Speaker 2: the week that was this is what the Health Minister
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  Speaker 2: Natasha Files had to say. Take a listen.
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  Speaker 3: The criteria from the Commonwealth government for the Howard Springs
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  Speaker 3: facility is humanitarian for vulnerable Australians to get home, so
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  Speaker 3: they don't fit that technical category. But I'm certainly happy
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  Speaker 3: to work with the Commonwealth.
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  Speaker 2: I've got to say, Paul. At the moment, I feel
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  Speaker 2: like everybody's sort of, you know, from all levels of
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  Speaker 2: government is sort of saying the right thing, but there
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  Speaker 2: doesn't seem to be a lot of movement in terms
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  Speaker 2: of making sure that you guys have got the workforce
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  Speaker 2: you need that's exactly right.
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  Speaker 1: At the moment, industry feels like it's on a hamster will.
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  Speaker 1: We feel like we've been running around in circles better
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  Speaker 1: part of eighteen months and really we are into the
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  Speaker 1: second season under COVID restrictions, and we would expect that
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  Speaker 1: the government would be more organized and give us a
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  Speaker 1: pathway to make this reality, but it just hasn't been forthcoming.
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  Speaker 1: You are right, go all levels of government are making
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  Speaker 1: the right noises. We just need a decision.
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  Speaker 2: So right now, you've managed to recruit ant farmers, have
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  Speaker 2: managed to recruit a group of one hundred and sixty
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  Speaker 2: six workers from Vanawatu. They're needed obviously to fill those
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  Speaker 2: fruit picker shortages for the upcoming season, but there's nowhere
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  Speaker 2: for them to quarantine at the moment. Is that on
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  Speaker 2: farm option an option for these one hundred and sixty
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  Speaker 2: six workers.
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  Speaker 1: At the moment, we've only got one farm in the
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory accredited for on farm quarantining. The criteria for
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  Speaker 1: on farm quarantine is exceptionally strict and difficult for many
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  Speaker 1: producers to be able to satisfy. So we need as
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  Speaker 1: many options as we can in the toolbox. At the moment,
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  Speaker 1: the only option that looks like being a viable one
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  Speaker 1: is how it springs. That's currently sitting with Prime Minister
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  Speaker 1: and Cabinet, and we're needing some direction from the federal
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  Speaker 1: government back to the territory government. To say, yes, we
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  Speaker 1: can do this, and then we can start to submit
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  Speaker 1: our recruitment plans and get our visas and starting to
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  Speaker 1: make this happen.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, So the reality here probably is at this point,
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  Speaker 2: if there's only one farm that where they can actually
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  Speaker 2: suitably quarantine people, how many can they even quarantine on
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  Speaker 2: that one farm?
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  Speaker 1: It's in the handfuls. Yeah, it's not going to resolve
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  Speaker 1: our problem. It will assist that particular grower, but from
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  Speaker 1: an industry wide perspective, it really will have no bearing
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  Speaker 1: at all.
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  Speaker 2: All right, So it does from what you're saying to
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  Speaker 2: me this morning, it seems as though blatant points kind
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  Speaker 2: of been taken out of the equation right.
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  Speaker 1: Now, that's correct, and we saw that as a really
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  Speaker 1: viable option for multiple industries and also for trying to
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  Speaker 1: get our university sector and get their international students back.
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  Speaker 1: The economy is really hurting at the moment right across
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  Speaker 1: the board. On a daily basis, we're hearing pee wee
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  Speaker 1: are back to five days a week. There's a story
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  Speaker 1: today online around a business that is actually closed up
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  Speaker 1: to week for a week to do some training with staff.
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  Speaker 1: So you know, we're all starting to really fill the
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  Speaker 1: bite of not having enough workforce, and it just goes
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  Speaker 1: to show the amount we rely on the international travelers
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  Speaker 1: and the international workers coming in to fulfill jobs that
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  Speaker 1: Australians simply don't want to do.
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  Speaker 2: Now we know that there are obviously three and a
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  Speaker 2: half thousand beds at Howard Springs, so then well there
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  Speaker 2: was the Health Minister had told us yesterday those numbers
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  Speaker 2: around the international arrivals that are there and also the
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  Speaker 2: interstate arrivals. From what I can gather, there is room
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  Speaker 2: at Howard Springs, but that funding that the territory government's
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  Speaker 2: got is related to those international repatriation flows. So somehow
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  Speaker 2: we've got to work something out here. I mean, we're
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  Speaker 2: talking about one hundred and sixty six workers.
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  Speaker 1: We're talking about one hundred and sixty six at a time.
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  Speaker 1: We actually need about seven hundred over the next few months.
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  Speaker 1: But we can bring them in in a staggered approach.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, we've put Olive Branch out after Olive Branch
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  Speaker 1: to work with levels of government to try and facilitate
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  Speaker 1: this that has the minimum disruption for the Howards Rings facility.
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  Speaker 1: And we do know that they're over a thousand beds
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  Speaker 1: out there at the moment that are not got someone
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  Speaker 1: with their head on the pillow tonight that we could
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  Speaker 1: potentially utilize. So we just need government to say yes,
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  Speaker 1: we can do it, formalize that to us so we
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  Speaker 1: can get the recruitment and the visa is happening.
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  Speaker 2: Paul, do you reckon that the reason that they're holding
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  Speaker 2: back is because it's a funding thing and is like
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  Speaker 2: our farmers prepared to pay some kind of amount to
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  Speaker 2: be able to have them quarantine there.
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  Speaker 1: We've always said that that we're happy to make more
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  Speaker 1: quarantine costs, which we did last year. Growers also subsidized
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: the air travel over as an industry organization, we will
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  Speaker 1: underwrite that, so we will pay upfront and then we
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  Speaker 1: will chase the farmer's for payment. So from a government
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  Speaker 1: risk point of view, it's very low. From a perspective
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  Speaker 1: of safety, going through how it springs, there is no
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  Speaker 1: better facility in Australia and that's been proven over and
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  Speaker 1: over again. So I think from a safety aspect, from
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  Speaker 1: an industry perspective, we're prepared to commit funds to make
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  Speaker 1: this reality. Yeah, I think that we've been completely reasonable, Paul.
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  Speaker 2: Honestly, you and I have spoken about this on so
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  Speaker 2: many occasions. I know that you guys are working so
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  Speaker 2: incredibly hard to try to sort this out. For those
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  Speaker 2: listening this morning who've really not heard us have this
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  Speaker 2: discussion in the past, what is it going to mean
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  Speaker 2: If you're not able to get these workers across.
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  Speaker 1: Here, we simply won't be able to get the full
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  Speaker 1: crop off this year. And it's as simple as that.
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  Speaker 1: And the mango industry is worth one hundred and forty
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  Speaker 1: million dollars. They're about territory economy and that's a hit
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  Speaker 1: we can't afford to take. And from an individual grower's
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  Speaker 1: point of view, they spend all year growing a mango
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  Speaker 1: and if they can't get it off the tree, it's heartbreaking.
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  Speaker 1: So it's having a massive mental health toll on each
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  Speaker 1: individual grower that's just going, well, where's my workforce coming.
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  Speaker 1: We had an example a few weeks back where we've
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  Speaker 1: managed to secure fifteen workers out of Victoria and then
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  Speaker 1: the internal border is closed, So we've got a lot
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  Speaker 1: of challenges in front of us. And COVID's not going
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  Speaker 1: anywhere in the short period and vaccination levels are quite low,
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  Speaker 1: so we need to have this in place. Probably for
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  Speaker 1: next year as well.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, Anti Pharmac CEO Paul Burke, Mate, we'll try
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  Speaker 2: our best to stay onto it and no doubt we'll
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  Speaker 2: talk to you again in the very near future. I
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  Speaker 2: really hope that something's able to be sorted very quickly.
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  Speaker 1: The great work, Kadie, and we really thank you for
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  Speaker 1: getting our message out there to everyone. It's really appreciated well.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, Mate, at the end of the day,
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  Speaker 2: I think it's about us supporting territorians here at MIX
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  Speaker 2: because our farmers, our mango farmers, you know, do a
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  Speaker 2: phenomenal job. They employ plenty of people. I know that
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  Speaker 2: there's some people listening to the show who keep saying
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  Speaker 2: why can't they employ locals, But the fact is if
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  Speaker 2: they could employ locals at this point, they'd be doing
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  Speaker 2: that absolutely.
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  Speaker 1: That's dead right. And Mix are doing a great job
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  Speaker 1: getting a message out there.
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  Speaker 2: Paul. We'll talk to you again very soon. Thank you
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  Speaker 2: for your time.