Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week, I hosted Leader of the Nationals, David Littleproud, in my electorate of Flynn. We met with local growers in the North Burnett region who are concerned about the Labor government's Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme, the PALM Scheme. David and I heard loud and clear that Labor's changes to the PALM Scheme are making it more difficult and costly for farmers to get their product from paddock to plate. The changes will require farmers to offer a minimum of 30 hours per week, even though agricultural work is seasonal and weather-dependent. It is widely believed in the industry that these pay rate changes will reduce productivity and give no incentive to work.

Harvest time is dependent on the weather. If you apply a minimum pay rate for a wet week, people will be paid to do nothing, adding further costs to the producer. If minimum pay rates are applied over workers' length of contract, then they can make up the shortfall of pay on days when they are working at full production with overtime. The government has said that workers do not earn enough hours and that is why we must guarantee 30 hours a week. There is no data available to prove this claim. If there is, where is it? I've written to the Labor government asking for an explanation, and I'm still awaiting a reply. Labor simply does not understand how agriculture works.