The Australian Labor Party has defended its plan to replace the agriculture visa announced by the federal government last year and offer more incentives to farm workers from the Pacific. Yesterday, the party announced it would create a dedicated agriculture visa stream under the established Palm (Pacific Australia Labor Mobility) scheme, effectively replacing the Coalition’s new visa for forestry, fishery, and farm workers targeting workers from south-east Asia. Agriculture Minister David Littleproud accused the opposition of scrapping the agricultural visa which Australian farmers needed to meet workforce shortages. “The Australian Workers’ Union have got their way and will kill the hopes of providing a long-term solution to the labour workforce issues in agriculture,” Littleproud said. Michael Coote, CEO of AUSVEG, said the proposed changes to the ag visa would restrict the number of partner countries and result in fewer workers on Australian farms.

Source: The Guardian April 27, 2022 12:28 UTC