SHEARING contractors in Western Australia are resigned to completing spring shearing with the local workforce they have now, without extra New Zealand or interstate shearers and shed hands to assist.
Hopes the State government might help arrange a charter flight of up to 200 shearers and wool handlers direct from New Zealand into WA to overcome a skilled labour shortage for spring shearing have been dashed by a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 there.
Last week four members of an Auckland family tested positive to COVID-19, the first new cases in 102 days in New Zealand where previous restrictions on residents relating to the pandemic had been removed.
A week later, as Farm Weekly went to press last week, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Auckland and neighbouring North Island regions of Waitemata and Counties Manukau had passed 90, with at least six people being treated in hospital.
The New Zealand Ministry of Health has confirmed the source of five per cent of community cases has not yet been established and a two-week level-three lockdown has been reimposed on Auckland.
An alert level two, which imposes social distancing requirements for all premises, contact tracing obligations for many businesses and encourages the wearing of face masks in public, has been reintroduced for the rest of New Zealand.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has deferred New Zealand's general election scheduled for September 19 for four weeks because of the outbreak.
"Basically, we are going to have to do spring shearing with the teams we have now," said WA Shearing Industry Association (WASIA) president and Lake Grace shearing contractor Darren Spencer.
"We (WASIA) didn't ask for it (extra New Zealand shearers and shed hands to be flown in on a direct charter flight for spring shearing), but when others raised it last week we said 'well, alright if it can be done'.
"But that was before the latest outbreak over there - I'd say it's no longer a viable option.
"Everyone is making do with what they've got."
Mr Spencer said WA's hard border and 14-day quarantine requirements for people coming into the State effectively made bringing shearers in from overseas just for spring shearing uneconomic.
"The quarantine now costs about $2800 and they can't work for two weeks - a good shearer can earn about $2000 a week, so coming into WA will cost them roughly about $7000 before they shear their first sheep," Mr Spencer said.
"Then, if they're from New Zealand and going home for Christmas, as I understand it, at the other end it will cost them about NZ$3400 to quarantine for two weeks on re-entry."
Mr Spencer said he knew some WA contractors had received enquiries from Queensland shearers and he was trying to help a shearer from Victoria come to WA for spring, who had originally intended to come over to work for Brian 'Bero' Beresford, a shearing contractor who died late last month.
But the spike in new COVID-19 cases and related deaths in Victoria and with Melbourne a declared hotspot, that application's success was now unlikely, he said.
Mr Spencer said two more shearers from South Australia had previously gained exemptions to come into WA to work for him without having to quarantine, but that was also before South Australia recorded its latest cluster of cases.
Shearers and wool handlers from interstate, other than from Victoria and New South Wales, can apply online for a WA G2G pass to allow them, as 'people employed in agriculture, food production or primary industry who need to be in Western Australia', to enter.
Whether they have to quarantine for 14 days on arrival is at the discretion of the police chief commissioner.
Mr Spencer said the difficulty in travelling to WA, the lack of certainty in gaining approval to enter and the probability of having to then quarantine for 14 days before being able to work, would likely see interstate shearers and shed hands stay home and look for work in their own region this spring.
He said two members of his shearing teams had been "accosted in the pub" recently by a woolgrower who had been upset by a previous comment, in Farm Weekly, that shearing might take a little longer this spring because of a shortage of shearers and wool handlers.
But most woolgrowers were aware of the situation and trying to organise full shearings, with both growers and contractors trying to be as flexible as possible, Mr Spencer said.
"Some (woolgrowers) have brought their shearing forward to try to take the pressure off and most have organised to get everything shorn - lambs and all - while the contractor is there," he said.
"They realise that being able to get shearers back when they want them might not be possible this spring."
Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan indicated the State government was not about to open its border to shearers from new Zealand or anywhere else.
"The New Zealand outbreak is a timely reminder that we need to remain vigilant against the COVID-19 pandemic," Ms MacTiernan said on Monday.
"Our hard border remains our greatest protection against a second wave.
"We've had to be very clear with industry - they cannot rely on a hope that international labour will be available this year.
"We are working with the shearing industry to deal with potential labour shortages - we understand industry is examining better co-ordination of shearing teams to help deal with the issue.
"Since March we have recognised a potential looming shortfall of agricultural workers and have been working with industry to develop local solutions.
"We have funded the Jobs in WA Food and Ag program, which includes free use of job-matching platform Studium for WA agrifood businesses.
"More than 10,000 job-seekers and 50 agricultural businesses are registered on the platform and we will be ramping up promotional activities over the next month to get more Western Australians job seekers looking to the ag industry," Ms MacTiernan said.
Before the latest New Zealand COVID-19 outbreak, The Nationals WA last week had called on Ms MacTiernan to "secure a deal" for 200 New Zealand shearers to travel direct to WA.
The party's agriculture spokesman Colin de Grussa had argued there were not enough local shearers to cope this spring without the shearing season being "delayed or compromised".
Mr de Grussa pointed out the State government had already made special arrangements for the AFL and fly-in fly-out resources industry workers.
He also pointed out the Northern Territory had negotiated a pilot program with the Federal government to attract 170 workers from Vanuatu in to fill horticulture industry labour shortages.
