Farmers screaming “shortage” won’t employ young Aussies

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The myth that Australia’s farms are experiencing massive labour shortages due to a dearth of Australians willing to do the work has been exposed again by the New Daily:

The government and peak farming body have been left scrambling to find ways to help unemployed Australians land fruit picking work after The New Daily revealed that finding a farm job is almost impossible for locals…

The farmworkers’ union has come out swinging, claiming growers’ preference is to employ cheap, easily exploitable foreign workers over locals, a practice the union says will continue if the industry is not “cleaned up”…

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.