âItâs good work, itâs good payâ: Young folk urged to ease farm labour shortage
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Young Aussies have been urged to apply for a job in the bush, amid predictions that Queensland will soon have a massive shortage of 9000 farm workers.
International border closures as a result of COVID-19 have shut out backpackers and other migrant workers, with warnings that fruit and vegetables are being left to rot, while grocery prices could soar.
Isabelle Devine and Jack Murday run a chilli and paw paw farm in Mossman, far north Queensland.
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Subscriber only There is a new bioweapon in the arsenal to fight against a small pest with a voracious appetite for Queensland s agricultural crops. Native to the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, fall armyworm arrived on Australian shores at the beginning of 2020 and has since been detected in Emerald, Clermont, Mackay and Dysart. It eats more than 350 plant species including sugarcane, vegetables, sorghum, pastures and wheat. The Agricultural and Fisheries Department has been given the green light to import Fawligen, a biopesticide which infects the caterpillar and its larvae with a virus. Agricultural Industry Development Minister Mark Furner said importing Fawligen for research allowed the government to begin testing how it performed under local conditions.
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The Palaszczuk government ground to a halt $92 million in IT projects as part of a penny-pinching program to hunt for savings amid the coronavirus pandemic.
But the savings may be short-lived, with IT projects to be restarted on a case-by-case basis.
Treasurer Cameron Dick announced a freeze on new, non-essential IT projects in July 2020.
Credit:Attila Csaszar
Treasurer Cameron Dick announced a six-month freeze on new, non-essential IT projects in July last year, as part of a plan to save $3 billion over four years.
That six-month freeze is due to expire on Saturday.
New projects related to critical safety or cybersecurity were excluded from the freeze.
Bobblehead, flowers and a racing helmet among the gifts for ministers
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A bobblehead, bouquets of flowers and a race car helmet were among the gifts given to Queensland politicians last year.
Former natural resources minister Anthony Lynham, now retired from politics, was given a bobblehead figurine and a leather baseball glove by the Brisbane Bandits, which he put on display.
AEG Ogden chairman Harvey Lister had three bouquets of flowers delivered to Queensland ministers.
Dr Lynham also declared gifts valued at $880 from mining company Meijin Group after he was bestowed two Chinese inlaid lacquer jewellery boxes and two red silk traditional Chinese outfits.