Hansard debates

Mrs McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (00:10): (1592) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Agriculture and concerns the absurd situation by which farmers working alone on their land will be forced to comply with the same mandatory vaccination directions designed for office workers and high staff density occupations. There could not be any clearer indication that this government never thinks about the reality of life in regional Victoria. Farming is one occupation where social distancing is not just possible, it is almost guaranteed. But I also want to raise the impact on farmers as employers and business owners. It is not just the bureaucracy of record keeping, it is the impossibility of enforcement. Farmers now face fines of up to more than $100 000 for allowing unvaccinated workers onto their properties. All of this comes at a time when agriculture has already experienced serious workforce shortages. As the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) grains group president, Ash Fraser, said this week:

You have got a header sitting there, without a driver, are you going to turn a potential worker away?

It puts farmers in a vulnerable position.

As Stock & Land reported recently, there could be enormous consequences. A Benalla shearing contractor said that he and his 30-strong crew will be going north to New South Wales, which has less onerous requirements for agricultural workers. He said his 15 shearers and 15 shed staff:

… flat-out won’t work (in Victoria) because they don’t want to have the needle.

He went on:

All the farmers around this local area, around Benalla, Wangaratta, Ruffy, Strathbogie, Euroa won’t get their sheep shorn.

This will be an animal welfare issue. Where are you, Mr Meddick, when we need you? This will not just be the case there. It will happen all across regional Victoria at a time when closed international borders are already playing havoc with the agricultural labour market.

Finally, just like other business operators, farmers still have no clarity on whether allowing unvaccinated contractors any access to their property even for deliveries, for example, is permissible. What has been made clear by contrast is that audits and enforcement will be conducted to ensure compliance with all chief health officer directions. VFF president Emma Germano was told by Agriculture Victoria that this will involve authorised officers.

The action I seek, Minister, is for you to stand up in government for agriculture, for farmers burdened not just by absurd compulsory requirements designed for densely packed city workers but by the legal mastery, bureaucracy and enforcement demands made upon them. All of this is utterly disproportionate to any risk in a farming setting. Now is the time, Minister, to work with your colleagues and reverse this attack on Victoria’s most productive industry. Just let farmers farm, Minister.