Fruit left to rot as ‘strongest state’ can’t get enough workers

The West Australian Treasurer has lauded her state as the strongest in the nation after it received a second top-notch credit rating, but farmers and business groups have warned ongoing worker shortages are a drag on the economy.

While Ms Saffioti said the state’s finances were the envy of the nation, Kununurra farmer Lachlan Dobson was facing the prospect of hundreds of tonnes of fruit dropping to the ground and rotting without any workers to harvest it.

A WA government spokeswoman acknowledged the state’s labour shortages, and said it was working to cultivate stronger ties with Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste to source more workers.“Work is being undertaken to identify additional potential sources of workers, particularly from emerging labour markets, such as South-East Asia and South America,” they said.

While NSW and Victoria deal with massive deficits, Ms Saffioti said WA should not be punished for doing the heavy lifting through COVID-19 and keeping its mines open during east-coast lockdowns.

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