Susanna Freymark
The NSW Government doesn’t want covid settings to slow down the state’s critical agricultural sector or impact on the supply chain when the state reopens on Monday, October 11.
Minister for Agriculture Adam Marshall said with NSW reaching the 70% vaccination target, he hoped to see many workers take up on-farm employment.
“While I encourage everyone to get vaccinated, it will be up to individual agriculture businesses to decide if they mandate vaccinations for workers or not,” Mr Marshall said.
“If you work in horticulture, viticulture, the citrus industry, an abattoir or farm, there is no requirement from the NSW state government for you to be vaccinated, although I would highly recommend it for keeping our workplaces and communities safe.”
From Monday, people in regional areas will be required to be fully vaccinated to enjoy cafes, cinemas, pubs and restaurants.
The NSW Public Health Order states that staff employed in roadmap premises such as hospitality venues and hairdressers are all required to be vaccinated.
For non-high-risk premises (such as farms, saleyards and abattoirs) and critical retail premises (such as garden centres, rural supplies, timber yards, hardware and building supplies and landscaping material supplies) it will be up to individual businesses to decide if they mandate vaccinations for workers or not.
“Regional NSW travel restrictions will ease in the coming weeks, so now is the time for job seekers to get their boots dirty. Harvest work is tough, but the pay is great and offers the opportunity to see some beautiful parts of NSW,” Mr Marshall said.
“If you want to get your hands dirty, the best place to start is our ‘Help Harvest NSW’ website, which connects agriculture employers with anyone looking for work.” – opens in new tab
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