Western Australia's agriculture sector says it's vital the industry be deemed eligible for exemptions that would allow specialist skilled workers into the state to pick and pack crops, sow broadacre crops and muster cattle.
Last week, Premier Mark McGowan announced the state's border would remain closed to the rest of Australia indefinitely, but workers with "specialist skills" would be allowed to enter from February 5.
Agricultural employers are concerned it will be difficult to bring overseas and interstate farm labour into the state if farm and pastoral staff are not recognised under the exemption.
Haydn and Jane Sale, the general managers of the Argyle Cattle Company, Yougawalla Pastoral Company and Mandora Cattle Company, oversee eight cattle stations across the Kimberley.
Mr Sale said there could be "disastrous" consequences if qualified staff could not be brought in before the start of mustering, which would likely be brought forward due to dry conditions in some parts of the region.
"At the moment we've got somewhere between 25 and 30 positions to fill that would normally be coming from the east coast, plus other staff that are already committed to be here for that March start that are now in limbo," he said.
"I'd like to see some clarity on how we're going to work this and an exemption for agricultural workers is the most obvious one to come in and help, because it will turn into an animal welfare issue unless we're very careful.
"The crux of the issue for us being in the Kimberley ... is the ability to get people across the border of Kununurra and go direct to station and quarantine [there] because coming through Perth is just unworkable."
Horticulture sector 'exhausted'
It's a view shared by Kimberley growers like Kane Younghusband, who grows melons at Shelamar Station for Roper River Agriculture, about 200 kilometres south-east of Broome.
Mr Younghusband said he had been stranded interstate for more than nine months and was remotely managing the property which produces up to 8,000 tonnes of melons each year.
He said if agricultural workers were not eligible for exemptions, he may have to dramatically cut back production this season.
"All levels of workers are in desperate short supply, whether we're talking specialist skills or unskilled workers; there's a critical shortage of all workers.
"What I'd like to see is for us to revert back to something like what we were doing in 2020, where commonsense exemptions applied, and we were able to bring staff in from other states as required."
Could relief be on the way?
Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan said she expected that certain professionals such as broadacre farm machinery operators would soon be classified as specialist skilled workers.
"I'm pretty confident there will be quite a few of the skill sets in agriculture that will be included in specialist skills, but we've just got to refine that over the next few days."
Ms MacTiernan met with representatives from the agriculture sector on Thursday afternoon, where she was quizzed about close contact definitions and isolation periods for farm and pastoral staff.
She said the government would still require interstate agricultural workers to quarantine for 14 days and staff arriving in WA from overseas would need to undertake their first seven days in hotel quarantine in Perth.
"Half of that has to be in hotel quarantine and half of that can be a different arrangement," Ms MacTiernan said.
It is understood workers heading north are currently unable to cross the border through the Kununurra checkpoint and are required to arrive via Perth or the Eucla checkpoint, to minimise the risk to vulnerable Indigenous communities in the north.
Grains industry cautiously optimistic
WAFarmers grains section president Mic Fels said he was cautiously optimistic the current skills shortage could be eased if agricultural workers were deemed to be specialist workers.
"We've been let down before, but it really does sound promising," he said.
"I think most farmers would be recruiting right now for seeding ... and it gets really busy from now on, so in my instance I'd be getting people here as soon as I can."
Ms MacTiernan said she hoped two additional flights of workers from the Pacific Islands in February, could also help ease the burden on the state’s meat processing industry.
Around 2,000 seasonal workers have been flown into WA during the pandemic, to help alleviate worker shortages and dwindling backpacker numbers in the state.
