With unemployment figures for North West Victoria dropping to 2.4 per cent and a record Regional Victorian low of 2.8 per cent, the challenge is now to ensure businesses are able to find workers to continue the growth.

Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force figures released this week showed Regional Victoria’s unemployment rate was well below the national regional jobless rate of 3.2 per cent.

“This is great for the many now employed, and for those businesses and organisations able to fill jobs,” Member for Mallee Anne Webster said.

“But we need to see more growth. I know from speaking with those in the Health sector and the Regional Aged Care sector that they are still struggling for staff, and many horticulture producers have told me they still can’t get enough workers to get fruit off the vine.

“Despite these encouraging numbers, there are still thin workforces and this will cost Mallee businesses in the long run.”

The latest figures come after the Centre for International Economics Contribution of Australian Horticulture Industry Report crowned the Mildura – Swan Hill region as the Australia’s most valuable horticultural region.

The region’s Gross Value of Production (GVP) is expected to grow more than anywhere else in the nation, by 32 per cent (from $1.7 billion in 2020-21) to $2.2 billion per annum in 2029-30.

“But this growth is in jeopardy if those workers cannot be found,” Dr Webster said.

“This is why the PALM Scheme is so valuable, and why Labor’s scrapping of the Nationals-introduced Ag Visa was such a blow to the regions.”

Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Migration, Dr Webster said Labor’s migrant worker and industrial relations agendas failed to consider the realities in a horticulture-reliant region.

“A 30 per cent hike in the annual salary for temporary skilled migrants since 1 July and a mandatory 30 hour working week for PALM workers are putting pressure on Mallee businesses, particularly in horticulture, who are reliant on weather and other seasonal conditions for work to continue,” she said.

“Add to that Labor’s Same Job Same Pay legislation that disincentivises working harder on the job, and the growth spurt predicted this week for Mildura and Swan Hill horticulture may not come to pass.”