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Policy priority to build workforce
HAVING grown up in Parkes NSW on a pig farm, I have seen firsthand the on- going challenges our industry faces in at- tracting and retaining suitable workers.
These challenges have only been exacerbated by COVID-19, with the restriction of move- ment of workers across state borders, reduced incoming flights and border closures, mini- mising the availability of overseas workers.
The process was vol- untary and we’re hugely appreciative of those who were involved.
dustry labour agree- ment.
Over the past six months, the Australian Pork Limited policy team has been working hard to finalise policy resolutions and pri- orities for the next 12 months, with workforce being a key priority.
As we developed the strategy, three key areas of focus were identified – attraction and reten- tion of employees, ac- cess to migrant labour, and training and edu- cation.
We are currently working with the fed- eral Department of Home Affairs to ensure those making decisions on labour agreements within government are well educated on the issues faced by the pork industry.
In recognition of on- going labour and skills shortages faced by the industry, APL engaged consultants to develop the pork industry work- force strategy.
Each of the three pri- ority areas identified through the consulta- tion process are un- derpinned by specific tasks that have been carefully designed to improve the labour and skills situation for the industry and provide clear workforce policy direction for the APL policy team.
The APL policy team is also developing an information pack for DHA, to ensure key issues affecting our workforce are un- derstood to support better decision-making among pork industry labour agreement del- egates.
The purpose of the strategy was to identify and prioritise key areas of workforce policy for the Australian pork sector by engaging with industry through inter- views, focus groups and an online survey.
The immediate focus for our team however is ensuring the sector’s accessibility to skilled overseas workers through the pork in-
If you are having trouble attracting and retaining workers do- mestically, please email me at billy.davies@aus- tralianpork.com.au as your input will help us craft our submission.
by BILLY DAVIES Policy Offier
Celebrating cultural events with gifts arriving from overseas and increased travel increases the risk of introduc- ing disease into Australia. Photo: Pascal Bernardon
African swine fever variant and imports pose risk
THE Australian Gov- ernment is urging heightened biosecurity vigilance following re- ports of new variants of African swine fever emerging in our region.
items arriving and in- creased travel in the re- gion, this is the perfect storm of risk.
refuse entry to Australia for serious biosecurity breaches,” Minister Little- proud said.
osecurity conditions, they are also putting industries, jobs and the health of our plants and animals at risk.
Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Lit- tleproud said the next few weeks in particular were critical to keeping the deadly disease out.
“My department is aware of this developing situa- tion and is pulling out all stops to ensure ASF does not arrive here – including interventions at the border, targeted operations to de- tect fraudulently labelled imported product and conducting more testing of pork products seized through international mail.”
“And we are making sure we’re as ready as possible to act should ASF ever be detected here, running simulation exercises for the Australia pork industry throughout 2019-20.
“Commonly intercepted items include pork, which could carry deadly ASF, fruit, plants, eggs and herbs.”
“The reported emer- gence of new variants of the ASF virus in Asia is concerning,” Minister Lit- tleproud said.
“But maintaining Aus- tralia’s highly-valued pest and disease-free status is everyone’sresponsibility.
If you are unsure about the biosecurity status of goods that you have brought into Australia or received in the mail, please report a biosecu- rity concern by calling the hotline on 1800 798 636 or completing the online re- porting form agriculture. gov.au/pests-diseases- weeds/report#form
“Variants are showing less obvious signs of the disease which increases the likelihood of it going undetected and uncon- trolled.
Changes have been made to legislation to allow in- creased penalties for trav- ellers who do not declare high risk goods at the border.
“While gifts are brought or sent with good inten- tions, they can introduce pests or diseases into Aus- tralia, including ASF.
For more details, visit agriculture.gov.au/travel ling/exhibitions-sporting- cultural-other-events or facebook.com/australian biosec
“With cultural celebra- tions recently, more gift
“Other legislation changes also allow the Australian Border Force to cancel certain visas and
“If these products are brought or sent to Aus- tralia, people are not only risking significant penal- ties for breaching our bi-
“A collective effort is our best defence.
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Australian Pork Newspaper, March 2021 – Page 5