The federal government has accused Labor of planning to cut holiday visas for farm work which it said would create havoc for fruit and vegetable farmers.
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However, the claim has been denied by the ALP which says it is not its policy.
Agriculture minister David Littleproud accused Labor of wanting to cut working holiday visas from two years to one.
There arent enough willing workers to pick our farmers fruit and vegetables, but Labors unions want to effectively halve the number of backpacker workers available, he said.
If this plan became reality then our fruit and vegetables wont get to the city supermarkets, theyll rot in the field with nobody to pick them.
Mr Littleproud said the government was extending backpacker visas from two to three years.
However, the ALP candidate for Calare, Dr Jess Jennings, said the minister had totally fudged the facts on the issue.
It was a union policy thought-bubble which is not Labor policy, he said.
Dr Jennings said Labor was awaiting the findings of a government review before deciding on its policy.
He said Mr Littleproud had supported a 32 per cent backpacker tax which Labor had negotiated to reduce to 15 per cent for people earning up to $37,000.
Orange district grower Guy Gaeta said backpackers played a vital role in getting fruit to market.
We always need more backpackers. They dropped off by 30 per cent in the past three years but they are going up again, he said.
Mr Gaeta said Labor and unions had told him they wanted more local workers.
The Labor party is hell bent we have enough workers in Australia, he said.
However, Mr Gaeta said it was difficult finding enough residents willing to do the work.
I dont know anywhere that refuses town workers, locals or Australians, he said.
If it wasnt for the backpackers people would be paying a lot more money for their food. It wouldnt be picked.
Mr Gaeta said about 1200-1500 backpackers were employed in Orange during the cherry season which traditionally lasts 16-18 days.
He said the apple season was a lot longer, about 2.5 months, but Orange only needed about 200 backpackers to pick the crops.
Mr Gaeta said backpackers averaged about $300 a day in pay.
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David Fitzsimons
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
