Harvest Trail enews: Spring 2009

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1 Page 1 of 8 Having trouble viewing this ? Click here You're receiving this because of your relationship with the National Harvest Labour Information Service. Please confirm your continued interest in receiving from us. You may unsubscribe if you no longer wish to receive our s. Harvest Trail enews: Spring 2009 Industry update In This Issue Industry update: Harvest Labour Service Partnership Meeting About travelling workers: long term tourists or short term migrants? Grower's paddock: Paul Koomen, Molbulk, Victoria Ripe for the picking: Queensland strawberries are in season now! Staff profile: Carole Green, Call Centre Operator Upcoming events: The next few months We are now on Facebook! Quick Reference Guide First time lodging a vacancy with us? 1. Ring Register your contact details with your State Manager. 3. Complete a Vacancy Request Details form over the phone. Harvest Labour Service Partnership Meeting On 10th and 11th August, the National Harvest Labour Information Service hosted the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) Partnership Meeting at its Mildura, Victoria head office. DEEWR, along with the NHLIS and Harvest Labour Services (HLS) met to discuss national horticultural labour issues as well as review current and future harvest trends. Along with reports by the NHLIS and HLS, the group heard presentations on bio-security from the Department of Agriculture Farming & Fisheries; visa work entitlements by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship; the award modernization by the Fair Work Ombudsman; and the Pacific seasonal worker pilot scheme by the DEEWR Migration Branch. The NHLIS supports a network of HLSs in regional areas of Australia to ensure that workers are referred from areas that have finished harvest to areas that require labour. Regions with large areas of horticulture production often have a dedicated Harvest Labour Service or "harvest office" to assist employers / growers to find workers. Being locally based the harvest office works closely with growers to ensure workers meet the requirements of the job and can legally work in Australia. Harvest Labour Services are run by a number of different organisations, but are all funded by DEEWR and hence their services are provided at no cost to growers. All harvest workers who are legally entitled to work in Australia are eligible for Harvest Labour Services, not only those receiving income support. Workers often include international backpackers and grey nomads who are looking at funding their travels around the country, as well

2 Page 2 of 8 4. You vacancy will be lodged and promoted on the Harvest Trail website. 5. Start receiving calls from our Call Centre Operators with interested workers. 6. Call us on when your labour requirements are met. 7. Ring back on if you need any more workers. as regular Australian workers. There are currently HLS working out of 22 different sites throughout Australia, with the exception of Tasmania. Click here to see if there is a HLS servicing your region, or call the NHLIS to discuss your harvest labour needs. Contact Us Website Phone: Fax: Post: P O Box 5055, Mildura Vic 3502 Join our list Quick Links Weather Department of Immigration and Citizenship Queensland Workplace Rights Ombudsman Australian Taxation Office Australian Workplace Have you ordered your copy of the 2009 Grower Guide? Phone for your free copy About travelling workers Partnership meeting participants Long term tourists or short term migrants? This is a question that Dr Jeff Jarvis and Dr Vicki Peel from the Graduate Tourism Program at the National Centre for Australian Studies tried to answer when looking at what impact Working Holiday Makers had on the tourism economy of Mildura in north west Victoria. The pilot study, which is a joint initiative with Tourism Victoria, found that Working Holiday Makers (WHMs) are one of the fastest growing international visitor sectors in Australia. Between 2004/05 and 2008/09 the market has increased by over 79%, with just under 188,000 young internationals arriving in Australia last year. This makes Working Holiday Makers the 'boom segment' for Australia's tourism industry. The market has been estimated to be worth over $1.8 billion per year to Australia in 2007/08. The Working Holiday Maker visa permits young international travellers aged between 18 and 30, from

3 Page 3 of 8 today! nineteen countries the right to work and travel in Australia for up to 12 months. It is a popular visa for young backpackers to take up. In 2005 and 2006, the Howard Government changed the requirements for Working Holiday Maker Visas. The changes allow these backpackers to apply for an additional WHM visa, if they spend three months working in agriculture. It was aimed at generating wealth for regional economies, while providing farmers with a reliable and mobile workforce. Jeff Jarvis, Vicki Peel with Peter Doody, Manager of Working Hostels Mildura Dr Jarvis and Dr Peel found that Working Holiday Makers had a substantial impact on the tourism economy of Mildura. On average, they stayed in town for two months while they worked, and spent $3200 during their stay. Dr Jarvis and Dr Peel also found that farmers were benefiting, with Working Holiday Makers interested in staying in jobs for the full 3 months. The researchers found there is scope for the Federal Government to extend the upper age limit of the working holiday visa from 30 to 35. This would cater to the booming international tourism market for career breakers or 'flash packers' as they are now known. Dr Jarvis and Dr Peel are in the process of applying for funding via an ARC-Linkage grant to roll their study out across more regions around Australia. To read the summary of the study "Long Term Tourists or Short Term Migrants?", click here. The NHLIS welcomes feedback from the users of our service. We invite your input at Harvest Trail website, if you would like to comment, please click here. Grower's paddock Paul Koomen, Monbulk, Victoria Flowers are the business for Paul Koomen whose company

4 Page 4 of 8 Koomen and Co is located at Monbulk in Victoria's picturesque Yarra Valley. Paul and his 10 permanent staff grow and harvest liliums, iced tulips and Dutch iris on 20 hectares of land located on three properties. Bulbs are imported directly from the Netherlands under strictly controlled quarantine and temperature conditions and grown in traditional Dutch style Venlo glasshouses. "There is always a strong demand for tulips" said Paul, "so we utilise cutting edge technology to ensure we can quickly react to market requirements and supply the market with what they need, when they need it." To be able to quickly turn on or off tulip production, the bulbs are imported in October and mass planted into plastic crates. Through a carefully calibrated system of cooling they are able to be brought into flower at any time of the year. All of the blooms are strategically marketed through Koomen Flowers which send the fresh flower produce to all the major capital and country towns in Australia, as well as the Melbourne Markets and wholesale and retail florist outlets.

5 Page 5 of 8 Not surprisingly the main harvest times are Valentines Day followed by Mothers Day, as well as a busy winter and spring season. Throughout the year several million bulbs are planted, grown and harvested keeping Paul and his staff very busy. Peak production times require around 100 additional casual workers to help out, and Paul sources most of these workers through his local Harvest Labour Service Provider - Salvation Army Employment Plus, located in the Yarra Valley. The NHLIS work with Salvation Army Employment Plus to source out-of-area workers to the region. So the next time you see a tulip, lilium or Dutch iris, chances are it may have originated from Koomen and Co in the Yarra Valley. Ripe for the picking Queensland strawberries are in season now! Did you know strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin C, in fact 100g provides approximately twice your daily allowance. It is also high in anti-oxidants and low in kilojoules.

6 Page 6 of 8 Legend has it that if you break a double strawberry in half and share it with a member of the opposite sex, you will fall in love with each other. The strawberry was a symbol for Venus, the Goddess of Love, because of its heart shapes and red color. Staff profile Carole Green, Call Centre Operator What led you to this position? As a young girl I used to go and pick all kinds of fruit and vegies for extra pocket money. It was hot, dirty work but we had some fun. I have worked in local packing sheds and at a local winery and left this to commence a course in Community Services. How long have you worked here? I have been working in the NHLIS as a Call Centre Operator for almost two years. The Call Centre team always seem so happy - what is your secret? Don't they say that food is good for the soul? We take it in turn to cook something each week. We are a pretty close knit group and at the moment the Call Centre has an uneven gender balance - all women! Can you tell us about the most unusual request you've received in this job? I received a call from a lady in England who was frantically trying to get in touch with her son. He was backpacking around Australia and she hadn't heard from him in quite a long time. Unfortunately we were unable to locate him, but several weeks later she notified us that he was found obliviously sunning himself on one of the far north islands without mobile range! Are you tempted to take the Harvest Trail yourself one day? I have thought about it - with the support that travellers get nowadays it's not as scary as it once was. It's a big country and I wouldn't know where to start, but certainly something I will continue to dream about. You must know a lot about what is grown throughout Australia; are there any crops that are perhaps little know to others? There is a plant called the Rambutan - it is a medium sized tree that grows a hairy red fruit and is native to South East Asia. This fruit has an interesting sweet and sour taste and is grown around Innisfail in North Queensland and in

7 Page 7 of 8 Northern New South Wales. Off the Beaten Track The past few months The NHLIS maintains a busy schedule with State Managers visiting industry groups, attending field days, conferences and expos to ensure that our service is recognised Australia-wide. Our travel schedule over the past three months has included: Upcoming events The next few months The NHLIS team attends many field days, events and conferences throughout the year and there is bound to be one close to you. Over the next three months we will be attending the following events and we welcome you to visit us to discuss your labour needs:

8 Page 8 of 8 We are now on Facebook! Come and visit us The National Harvest Labour Information Service's Facebook Group continues to grow in membership and members are now actively communicating with us and each other via this medium. The NHLIS regularly posts information on forthcoming harvests and we invite you, as an industry representative, to forward any newsworthy topic to nhlis@madec.edu.au for inclusion. Although this site will be informative, it is not intended to replace our Call Centre or website that list specific harvest vacancies. To become a member of the Harvest Trail Facebook Group, click here or search for "Harvest Trail" on Facebook. Forward Marketing by This was sent to kgiddings@madec.edu.au by nhlis@madec.edu.au. Update Profile/ Address Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe Privacy Policy. National Harvest Labour Information Service P O Box 5055 Mildura Victoria 3500 Australia