TODAY
11o Frost then sunny
13o 14o 15o TUE
WED
THURS
www.wangarattachronicle.com.au
Monday, July 18, 2022
Phone (03) 5723 0100
$1.50 INC. GST
Hospital reviewing emergency codes Page 5
CALLING ALL GREEN THUMBS TO TARRA RURAL City of Wangaratta’s Vanessa Thompson, Councillors Harry Bussell and Jack Herry, and Crystal Speakman and Andrew Snowdon are calling on community members to lend a hand as they aim to revitalise an extensive patch of land near Tarrawingee this Sunday. As part of Planet Ark’s National Tree Day, preprepared holes are set to be filled with a host of plants, Indigenous shrubs and grasses near the rail trail in Tarrawingee. ■ Full story page 3. PHOTO: Ryan Malcolm
Artist connects to wisdom Page 7
Milawa win nail biter against Bright SPORT
Agri-visa letdown Indi MP jjoins Fijij delegation g hoping p g to help p with industryy workforce shortages g WANGARATTA-based Indi Independent MP Helen Haines has joined a parliamentary delegation to Fiji in an effort to expedite islander workers joining Australia’s agriculture sector amid widespread staff shortages. Having departed for Suva yesterday, Dr Haines will spend much of the next five days investigating ways to strengthen workforce
3X
PERSONAL TRAINING SESSIONS
$99 promo ends
30 Sept 2022
BY RYAN MALCOLM rmalcolm@ nemedia.com.au
partnerships between Pacific Island nations and Australia, following the decision by the incumbent Labor leadership to scrap a dedicated farming visa developed by the previous Coalition government.
Dr Haines said the decision had been largely unhelpful in easing severe workforce shortages in the wake of two pandemicimpacted years for the agriculture sector, but said her focus was now on enhancing the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme. “Personally it’s unfortunate - the farming community tells me they aren’t happy with it,” she said.
“Australian farmers have been struggling with workforce shortages for years - the pandemic simply made things worse. “I have heard from farmers who lost 80 per cent of their crop last year simply because they couldn’t find anyone to pick it, and they’re bracing for the same this year. “It’s one thing in a pandemic, but we are nearly
three years into this now and the borders are open it’s time for governments to step up. “There’s real concern from the agriculture industry that we don’t have enough workers and we’ll be short going into summer picking.” Key citrus, pumpkins, hops and cherry harvests are fast approaching, while many of the region’s vineyards will be searching for
staff ahead of the upcoming 2023 vintage. Dr Haines said the local wine industry, which often relies on backpackers to fill key roles on the vineyard, had also had previous success employing workers from Thailand, an opportunity which would be blocked following the Federal Government’s revocation of the agricultural visa. ■ Continued page 2
Personal Training Tailor your workout to your needs and goals.
Visit wsac.vic.gov.au
