South Australia citrus industry still worried about backpacker tax

Although the backpacker tax is now under review, there are still concerns that if it does come into…

Although the backpacker tax is now under review, there are still concerns that if it does come into effect on July 1 this year, there will be a serious labour shortage, as Australians will not replace foreigners.

South Australia's citrus industry says that Australian workers will not pick up the slack if the Federal Government's backpacker tax drives foreign workers away.

Citrus SA committee member and citrus grower Mark Doecke said Australia's horticultural industries relied heavily on seasonal labour.

"You need thousands of people for only a few months of the year and the locals just aren't there," Mr Doecke said.

"Australians have sort of moved away from the manual, casual side of labour into more degree-based, qualified employment," he said.

"They've just moved away from that style of work [and] they don't like manual labour much anymore.

"You can't have 1,000 Australians sitting around [in the regions] for eight months of the year and working for four months of the year. It doesn't suit people, which is fair enough."

Waikerie citrus grower David Arnold said the tax changes would put an unfair burden on growers and their workers.

"It's perishable crops [and there isn't] machinery, so it's all hand labour basically to get all of our crop off," he said.

After pressure from the fresh food and tourism industries, Federal Tourism Minister Senator Richard Colbeck is now conducting a cross-departmental review of the tax.