Longer term strategy needed for rural labour

Coronavirus has accentuated the lack of skilled and seasonal labour in rural areas.

The difference under coronavirus is the foreign workers who would normally fill the gap are not there, exposing a serious weak link in our food and fibre supply chains. It is actually a vulnerability.

So where do we begin to tackle the problem?

The easing of some border restrictions for certain workers is a good start in the short term, but it doesn't address the uneven population, with potential workers not located near the work.

There are more than just the "soft, lazy Aussies" on welfare under the current conditions, with many people who were in jobs now out of work.

The reality is a lot of rural communities lack the services to attract and retain the necessary population.

It's hard enough for a lot of rural businesses in a normal year to get good staff who actually want to move to a rural area to take a permanent job, let alone a seasonal one.

The process often fails because successful applicants can't find their partner a job, or there's not the right type of accommodation, school or medical facilities.

Backpacker workers are really just a bandaid option, which under coronavirus has now been ripped off.

In the short term, producers need to get this year's harvest off - grain, fruit and vegetables, as well as wool.

Beyond that, what we also need are some longer term plans.

Agriculture is booming and yet it struggles to attract the people it desperately needs.

We need people who don't need a passport to pick our crops, help at harvest, in our abattoirs and to shear our sheep, simply due to the gap in the system it leaves under such a scenario as we have now.

While it would be convenient if those soft, lazy Aussies got off the couch and left their welfare cheque behind, while ever the cheque is available, they won't budge.

And who's to say they won't cost you more to have on the farm anyway, especially if they're unwilling to work?

What we need is a long term strategy to help the Australians who want to work, who take pride in their work, to be supported in moving to new areas where that work exists.