Queensland farmers say they’re at a loss as to why thousands of jobs are going unclaimed.
The state’s peak agricultural bodies say tens of thousands are needed across the state’s regions.
Some farmers have already been forced to discard crops due to a lack of workforce.
In Cairns, about 20,000 people are on JobSeeker. There is a similar number in Wide Bay.
A new report commissioned by the agricultural groups found there are about 15,000 seasonal workers needed in those areas.
In the Darling Downs-Maranoa region, there are about 7,000 JobSeekers, with 10,000 jobs to fill.
A similar issue is plaguing New South Wales.
Over the summer period, a majority of seasonal workers are those on working holiday visas.
But the coronavirus pandemic has ensured almost nobody is entering the country due to the country’s strict travel arrangements.
“Farmers are desperate to find contractors and employees willing to work to make the most of the bumper harvest we’re about to have,” NSW Minister for Agriculture Adam Marshall previously said.
“I want to see more Aussies climb off the couch and get out into the regions where there’s plenty of good-paying work on until the end of the year.”
Farmers are concerned that they might have to poison or plough crops that go unharvested.
Should that happen, they say, the cost of fresh fruit and vegetables at the supermarket will rise.
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