Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Farmer Tou, owner of Tou's Garden - the Top End's largest mango farm - says Federal Labor's plans to scrap Agriculture Visas is causing major staffing issues on farms

Transcript

Farmer Tou, owner of Tou's Garden - the Top End's largest mango farm - says Federal Labor's plans to scrap Agriculture Visas is causing major staffing issues on farms · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Now with the election just nine days away, it does
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: mean that we're currently in caretaker mode on the federal scale,
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  Speaker 1: which effectively means much of the government decision making is
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: put on hold.
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  Speaker 2: Now.
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  Speaker 1: This can have obviously wide ranging impacts and is even
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  Speaker 1: impacting our ag visa system and staffing on local farms.
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  Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line right now is Farmer III,
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  Speaker 1: the owner of Two's Garden and it is indeed the
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  Speaker 1: Top End's largest mango farm. Good morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: Hey, Good morning Kathy, and good morning everyone.
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  Speaker 1: It's lovely to have you on the show. Now, what
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  Speaker 1: is the situation with agricultural visas right now?
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  Speaker 2: Well, agriculture visa has been announced in June twenty twenty
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  Speaker 2: one which is expanded to the Asian country the ten
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  Speaker 2: Asian countries. It's so far we have a Vietnam, this
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  Speaker 2: one to sign up and the others are still waiting
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  Speaker 2: for the details. How are we going to help the
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  Speaker 2: agriculture sectors and holding culture sectors in the Australia to
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: harvesting their food and vegetable And this is a ray
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  Speaker 2: of hope for Funning, you know, being a farmer for
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  Speaker 2: the last thirty years in the Top in either our
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  Speaker 2: labor is always our issues always a problem for us
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  Speaker 2: because via number one remote number two you know it's
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  Speaker 2: very hot and humidity. You know, it's very hard access
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  Speaker 2: to the staff. And you know we are very like
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  Speaker 2: I said earlier, this is a rare of core for
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  Speaker 2: for the agriculture sector. This is the eighty billion dollars
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  Speaker 2: sectors in Australia itself. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Well and here in the Northern Territory. It's such a
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  Speaker 1: massive sector and one which you know when when you've
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  Speaker 1: got the staff it is absolutely thriving. I would imagine
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  Speaker 1: how are you going at the moment when it comes
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  Speaker 1: to getting staff and then being able to keep them.
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  Speaker 2: It's very hard. Everyone seemed to be promoting like well
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  Speaker 2: let the call a coach work or letter. You know,
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  Speaker 2: the the great nomad. You know they're beautiful people. But
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  Speaker 2: as soon as they have one season they have enough.
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  Speaker 2: We we we lose that continuity. That's why agricultural visa introduced. However,
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  Speaker 2: it is scary when we hear the Urbanzi government, if
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  Speaker 2: he's going to be in power, they're going to scratch
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  Speaker 2: the agriculture visa, which is the most concerning for for
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  Speaker 2: for the farming community. And that we you know what
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  Speaker 2: what you're going to help us in terms of how
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  Speaker 2: we're seeing the fruit. This is our livelihood. Yes, and
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  Speaker 2: you know, don't don't use political as a footballer who
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  Speaker 2: you know for you know playing this our lives and
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  Speaker 2: and and a food supply for for Australian and international
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  Speaker 2: as well.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, So to from your perspective at the moment, I mean,
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  Speaker 1: how many people would you usually employ at at your
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  Speaker 1: two's garden, at your farm.
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  Speaker 2: We do employ between eighty two hundred and twenty harward season. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: because of you know, within six weeks we drop it
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  Speaker 2: to twenty full time. That's it. So the mental industry
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  Speaker 2: meets between two thousand people in four to eight weeks.
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  Speaker 2: And as soon as you finished the harward season, the
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  Speaker 2: labor has the number of the employee has dropped to
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  Speaker 2: only ten or twenty percent of the workforce requirements. That's
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  Speaker 2: why agriculture visa is very important for us to be
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  Speaker 2: able to employ someone during the harward season. Take the
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  Speaker 2: food of the tree, take the vegetable off the ground
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  Speaker 2: and put on the customer consumer table.
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  Speaker 1: And so too. Sorry, so excuse my naivety because I
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  Speaker 1: don't know a huge amount about the harvest when you
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  Speaker 1: know what part of the season we're in at the moment.
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  Speaker 1: But are you in a situation right now where you
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  Speaker 1: are obviously trying to get workers for your farm and
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  Speaker 1: aren't able to because of the ag visa situation.
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  Speaker 2: Well, we do try to kill a lot of many
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  Speaker 2: way even though local, even though we contact Mala Luga
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  Speaker 2: you know, to have the people to come during the
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  Speaker 2: harvest season. But that is a very for example, it
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  Speaker 2: is a when you see food hanging on the tree,
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  Speaker 2: you don't know where your stuff got to come from.
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  Speaker 2: Let's put a lot of stress and you know suffocated
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  Speaker 2: to the farmer. For me being the last thirty years farming,
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  Speaker 2: and I see the last two years is being quite
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  Speaker 2: challenging because of COVID situations. You know, people have close contact,
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  Speaker 2: they cannot go out to work. I think it's a
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  Speaker 2: whole sectors now, you know, even airport, even the school.
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  Speaker 2: Got to be a very very difficult year in term
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  Speaker 2: of fine people to work. This year I think got.
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  Speaker 1: To be worse.
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  Speaker 2: If the government continue to you know, use the farming
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  Speaker 2: livelihoods as footballers, I think it is going to be
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  Speaker 2: very very difficult.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, So what do you want to say too, from
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  Speaker 1: from both of the major political parties as we head
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  Speaker 1: to the election, the federal election on May twenty one,
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  Speaker 1: do you want to see some surety when it comes
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  Speaker 1: to these agg visas.
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  Speaker 2: I want to see some action. I want to see
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  Speaker 2: the first group of agriculture of visa landed in Australia
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  Speaker 2: July this year. Because they've been from in December last year.
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  Speaker 2: The promise has not been kept and we've been waiting.
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  Speaker 2: We've been waiting, and now in the care tager more,
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  Speaker 2: no one wants to do anything. And now even the
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  Speaker 2: Amadisi government talking about going to scare the whole lot.
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  Speaker 2: And even though the the country that sign up they're
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  Speaker 2: going to scrap as well. I mean that's you know,
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  Speaker 2: for me, it's in the national relations, political internal politics.
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  Speaker 2: When you absolutely sign up the contract, you should be honored. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: and you know, hey, Morrison government already introduced it. Carry
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  Speaker 2: on because National Farmer Federations, Anti Mango Association, Australian Mango Associations,
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  Speaker 2: Anti Farmer Associations. We've been working so hard to get
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  Speaker 2: these agricultures visa up for the last ten years and
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  Speaker 2: we've been told that, well we're not going to honor it.
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  Speaker 2: I mean that that's a very sad day.
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  Speaker 1: It has to happen. Two, what will it mean if
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  Speaker 1: there are changes? No matter who gets elected at the
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  Speaker 1: federal the federal election, but if there are changes and
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  Speaker 1: these act visis don't go ahead, what will it mean
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  Speaker 1: to a farm like yours?
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  Speaker 2: Well, where you get the people from. You know, I
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  Speaker 2: don't even contemplate they're talking about, you know, bring more backpacker.
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  Speaker 2: We gotta going back to old traditional backpacker, which is
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  Speaker 2: they're here for the working holiday visa. They're not here
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  Speaker 2: to come to work, make money, send money home, look
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  Speaker 2: after their families. They're here to have a good time.
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  Speaker 2: You know, they good. Some of them's good backpacker. I'm
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  Speaker 2: not saying that they're all bad. Some of them's good.
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  Speaker 2: But the problem is they cannot coming back every year
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  Speaker 2: because of the training the people, you know, each year,
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  Speaker 2: training them to pick the right fruit, training them to
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  Speaker 2: pick the good fruit, train them to manage the fruit.
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  Speaker 2: It's not easy, not like you know, teach three day courts.
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  Speaker 2: We're talking about eavey employ the same person every year,
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  Speaker 2: and we know exactly where it's going to come from.
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  Speaker 2: And they come here to work hard, get paid Australian wages,
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  Speaker 2: going back home, send their kids to school, build their home.
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  Speaker 2: I think it's the best humanitarian that Australian can support
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  Speaker 2: all of those people who are willing to work in
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  Speaker 2: the ancient country. There are our family, there are our neighbors.
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  Speaker 2: We need to support the one that's not so privileged
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  Speaker 2: to have to have the money to go to university,
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  Speaker 2: the one that works in the mango farm in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia,
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  Speaker 2: that they be able to come here. Yep, you know,
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  Speaker 2: earn some money, pick the right fruit, manage the good fruit,
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  Speaker 2: go home well too.
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  Speaker 1: I really appreciate your time this morning and making myself
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  Speaker 1: and our listeners aware of these issues. Thank you so
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  Speaker 1: much for having a chat with me.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you Kathy, thank you everyone.
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: Thank you.