Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Regional Services) Share this | Hansard source

On the point of order, it just didn't happen, Senator Collins—just didn't happen. The Prime Minister made an announcement in South Australia over the weekend, which we welcome. It is actually ensuring that for those Australians who are looking for a job, who want to work, we have many, many roles available out in regional and agricultural regions and in our industries, and we look forward to welcoming them on farm to do this work. But we know that this won't be the single solution. We know this isn't the silver bullet and there is much more work to do. We've got the Seasonal Worker Program, which is filling significant gaps, and the Pacific workers scheme, which is also filling significant gaps. There are significant opportunities, I think, right throughout our region to have a win-win situation where those on Pacific islands can actually come and assist us with the great food task and support our farmers but also support their families at home. There's a lot of work we can do in ensuring that our farmers have the workforce and the skill levels they need to assist and get on with the food task. We're wanting to see agriculture grow from a $64 billion industry, as it is right now, to a $100 billion industry. That's going to take a lot of know-how, a lot of research and development, and a lot of workers.