Mr Milgate said the latest changes indicated government fundamentally misunderstood the realities of the agricultural industry.
“This plan shows us the government isn’t serious about listening to farmers about our workforce challenges,” he said.
“Farmers are heading into harvest and peak production, yet the government is introducing changes which would strip thousands of workers from an industry already under enormous workforce pressure.”
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke outlined Labor’s migration policy during a National Press Club address on Thursday.
Among the changes are the stabilisation of working holiday visa processing time to three months, the introduction of a ballot system for second and third year working holidaymakers along with mandatory regional work.
Mr Burke also announced he’d update ministerial direction 119 to ensure skilled migration would be supported for the agriculture industry.
Mr Milgate welcomed the prioritisation of agriculture but said the reforms were completely at odds with the realities of the industry.
“The ballot significantly diminishes the reward for taking on farm work, yet there has been no modelling released on how this change could affect the number of WHMs choosing agriculture,” he said.
“It is reckless, with potential catastrophic outcomes.
“A three-month processing time for visas, which used to take days, is completely unrealistic in the current situation and shows the government has no idea how farming works.
“Farmers cannot simply switch their operations off while governments debate migration policy. When crops are ready, they need to be harvested.
“Every day of uncertainty matters when farmers are dealing with seasonal production and a workforce which needs to be in place when the crop is ready.”
