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Article

16 Apr 2020

Author:
Victoria Stead, The Guardian

Commentary: Australia's food supply relies on migrant workers who are facing COVID-19 limbo

"Australia's food supply relies on migrant workers who are facing coronavirus limbo", 23 March 2020

...[P]oliticians have been quick to assure us of the reliability of Australia’s food supply systems.

[...]

But the reality is that the business of food production relies upon tens of thousands of workers, a huge proportion of which are seasonal workers and migrants.

[...]

...[W]e need to think urgently about the workforce on whom our food supply chains rely.


[...] The agriculture minister described the need to "secure labour", promising "minor tweaking" to the visa system....

[...]

"Minor tweaking" to the visa system may address part of their problem, enabling them to stay and work for longer...but it will not address the much bigger human and political challenges.

What if Pacific Islanders (or backpackers, or other temporary migrant workers) don't want to be used as an ongoing source of labour beyond what they have already contracted to provide? [...]

For those who do continue working, what are the health implications and risks of doing so?  [...]

If...food production sites shut down amid health concerns, what will be the financial impacts on agricultural sector workers...who areoverwhelmingly casual and without sick leave and other entitlements? [...]

[...]

Let's by all means think about the business of food production. But let's do that in ways that do not fall back on ill-conceived notions of national self-sufficiency. What the Covid-19 pandemic and its impacts on our food systems should highlight for us is our deep enmeshment in regional and global networks, and our responsibilities to all of those who feed us.