Backpacker visa cuts spark fears of rotting crops
Fears are growing that Australian produce could rot in fields if backpacker visa cuts go ahead. A federal agriculture department official told a Senate estimates hearing that no modelling had been done on the likely effect on harvests. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced that second-year visa places will fall from 57,000 to 45,000, and third-year places from 31,000 to 5000. The Northern Territory government has warned that the Top End mango harvest could lose 1000 workers. The National Farmers Federation has urged the government to return to regular visa processing.