South-west dairy industry leaders are continuing to push for an easier visa system that will allow them to employ more overseas workers despite a hiatus in the National Party on the issue.
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An expected announcement on the issue by the federal government last week did not materialise, leading to calls within the Nationals to push harder with their Liberal Coalition partner on the issue.
United Dairyfarmers of Victoria Wannon branch president Bruce Knowles, of Tyrendarra, said there was a shortage of farm labour in the south-west and a special agricultural visa for farm workers could help solve the problem.
Local farmers have previously brought out overseas workers on 457 visas but approvals for those visas have since been tightened up.
Mr Knowles, who has himself brought out several overseas workers to work on his dairy farm, said the process involved “mountains of paperwork” and “anything that frees up the process would be most welcome.”
Most of the overseas workers he has employed have since become Australian citizens.
Mr Knowles said the local shortage of farm labour had also led him to employ a few backpackers on visas that allowed them to work for 88 days with the possibility of a further extension.
UDV policy councillor Oonagh Kilpatrick, of Koroit, said that with the region having an unemployment rate of 2.7 per cent, it was “never going to fill the available jobs and realise the enormous latent potential in one of the best agricultural growing regions in Australia”.
“The lack of suitable people to fill the hundreds of jobs is holding back an otherwise thriving regional economy,” she said.
Mrs Kilpatrick co-hosted an information session in Warrnambool earlier this year that encouraged dairy farmers to consider bringing in overseas workers.
She said the dairy industry wanted workers who were skilled and could manage priority areas such as calving, herd health, milk and grass production.
She said if the south-west became eligible for a federal government designated area migration agreement (DAMA), it could help to address the region’s labour shortage.
The DAMA program has been developed to support economic performance of regions and help them adjust to changing economic conditions.
“With our low unemployment rate, we should tick the DAMA box,” Mrs Kilpatrick said.
