Pacific Islanders Arrive to Help Victoria’s Fruit and Vegetable Harvest
More than 100 seasonal workers from the Pacific Islands have arrived in the Australian state of Victoria to help ease the labour shortage on the state’s fruit and vegetable farms.
Up to 1,500 workers from the Pacific Islands will undergo 14 days of quarantine in Tasmania before arriving into Victoria, under an agreement between the Victorian and Tasmanian state governments.
“The arrival of workers is a fantastic step to bolster the local workforce for the Big Victorian Harvest,” Victorian Minister for Agriculture Mary-Anne Thomas said in a statement. “We have worked hard to secure these workers in partnership with other jurisdictions following the challenges faced by the coronavirus pandemic.”