Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health, Aged Care and Indigenous Health Services) Share this | Hansard source

The point I made prior to the interjection was that we're coming in to harvest time in Tasmania, and so we have another casual labour force that will take over, each, again, doing a very specific job that forms part of a casualised workforce that deals with the peculiarities and the seasonality of a farming operation.

If I summarise the main points: the difference between a general workforce and the farming sector workforce is immense. It's like a different planet, and until we understand the nuances and the peculiar requirements necessary to conduct that agricultural operation then we're not doing them any service at all. Finally, I'd like to say that they've got enough to put up with. The environmental compliance, the animal husbandry compliance, the industrial relations compliance—these are not people that have specialised people in offices or departments to deal with IR legislation. These are mum-and-dad businesses, and when mum or dad is taken away that means that 50 per cent of their business has stopped being effective. Farmers and our farming communities, our agricultural sector right across— (Time expired)

Honourable members interjecting—

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