Where are all the Aussie Workers?

Australian Agriculture Struggles to Come to Terms with 457 Visa Scrapping

Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull’s announcement that 457 Visas will be scrapped has led to an uproar from the agricultural sector. Most farmers said that they would prefer to employ Australians, but that there is a lack of skilled Agricultural workers in the country.

NSW Farmers board member Paul Shoker said that he felt there had been insufficient consultation and not enough consideration given to the consequences of the move. The agricultural skills shortage is a well-known problem

However, Turnbull says that 457 visas are taking jobs away from Australians, giving them to foreign workers.

Dairy Farmers Protest Hasty Move

The Department of Immigration was completely unaware of the ditching of 457 visas until less than a week before the ruling was announced, and the dairy industry is pushing back. Although only 179 workers designated as cattle farmers have entered the country in the last three years, experts believe that many more received their visas under the agricultural technician designation.

A report in FarmOnline estimates that over 500 dairy farming concerns will be affected by the ruling. It will now cost them twice as much to bring skilled workers to the country and the visa period they will be able to get will be cut to two years, down from four. Since the four-year visa opened up the possibility of applying for citizenship, foreigners will be less motivated to come and work in Australia.

A Melbourne lawyer working on the matter said that it seemed government had not fully thought the impact of the change through.

Entry-level Agri-biz Likely to be Hardest Hit

The Kimberly meat company said that the 457 visa had made business possible for smaller and newer abattoirs, and that even established ones would be hard-pressed to find Australians with an interest in being trained up in the beef sector. Its MD believes that the end of 457 visas will raise the bar for new entrants into the market making it more difficult to launch their businesses successfully.

Many farmers are looking towards increased mechanisation to overcome the skills shortage, but highly mechanised farms also need highly skilled workers to administer the systems, and of course, capital inputs are higher.

Can we Make Agricultural Careers More Attractive to Australians?

One of the reason for the skills shortage that necessitates foreign labour input is the shortage of young people who see agriculture as an attractive career. Educators and farming families say that the number of young people who are interested in agricultural careers is dwindling. Many young people who grew up rurally are moving to the city when they grow up, pursuing more “glamourous” careers and the bright lights of the city.

Meanwhile, young urbanites see farming as nothing but backbreaking work for little remuneration. With reference to the new visa ruling, many industry insiders are saying that efforts must be made to show Australians the value and possibilities inherent in an agricultural career. However, any such effort will only have an impact on the pool of prospective human capital in years to come.

For now, it seems that farmers will be monitoring the impact of the visa ruling on their operations with trepidation, expecting higher costs and greater disruption to their operations owing to a lack of settled, longer-term overseas employees.

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