Bipartisan event puts fresh produce front and centre for Australian parliamentarians
The Australian Fresh Produce Alliance (AFPA) hosted the third annual Parliamentary Friends of Fresh Produce event on 14 September, bringing together industry and the nation’s lawmakers.
Hosted at the Dame Dorothy Tangney Alcove at Parliament House, the event was convened by the Parliamentary Friends of Fresh Produce group’s bipartisan co-chairs, Raff Ciccone and Andrew Willcox.
More than 80 industry, government and parliamentary representatives attended, including minister for agriculture, fisheries and forestry Julie Collins; minister for trade and tourism Don Farrell; senior officials from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; and leaders from across the horticulture sector, including Hort Innovation and the National Farmers’ Federation.
This year’s event focused on the fresh produce sector’s access to a productive and returning workforce, a timely theme given the current government’s recent announcement on cutting and capping the Working Holiday Maker visa programme numbers coming into Australia, a key portion of the industry’s seasonal harvest labour.
“Our sector depends on a productive and returning workforce that can move with seasonal harvest needs, and right now migration settings affecting Working Holiday Makers are at real risk. This is the right moment to make sure that grower voices are heard directly by government,” said AFPA CEO Veronica Papacosta.
“Fresh produce touches every electorate in this country, so we’ve always taken a bipartisan approach to this event. It’s about building lasting relationships across the Parliament, making sure that the needs of our sector are understood and at the same time be able to celebrate the high quality and nutritious fresh fruit and vegetables that our sector delivers into Australian homes every day.”
The annual event forms part of AFPA’s ongoing engagement with parliamentarians on the priorities facing Australia’s fresh produce growers and exporters, from workforce access to trade and market access reform.
