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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 870 asked in the Legislative Council on 9 September 2020 by Hon Rick Mazza

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

CORONAVIRUS — SHEARING

870. Hon RICK MAZZA to the Minister for Agriculture and Food:

With COVID-19 restrictions putting a halt on skilled labour coming to Western Australia from interstate and overseas, Western Australia is facing a shortage of contract shearers for the imminent spring shearing season.

(1) Does the state government consider shearing to be an essential service?

(2) Is the minister aware that in addition to the financial impact for farming, the impacts on animal husbandry programs will create a looming animal welfare risk from sheep carrying wool during the flystrike season?

(3) What initiatives does the government have in place to ensure that a sufficient workforce is available for this season's wool clip?

Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:

I thank the member for the question.

(1) Yes, the government does understand the importance of shearers to the wool industry. A letter from the director of livestock research and industry innovation at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development to the WA Shearing Industry Association has been widely circulated by industry for use in obtaining commonwealth approval for incoming shearers.

(2) I am aware of the consequences that a delay in shearing might have to the routine practices of operating a farm. I understand the grass seed and flystrike risks associated with late shearing. In the event that there is a delay in shearing, growers are encouraged to implement appropriate animal husbandry and farm management practices to reduce the risk of flystrike.

(3) The WA Shearing Industry Association has advised that the industry has banded together to communicate and manage the workforce as efficiently as possible to get through this shearing season. Some factors have reduced the shearing task this year, including an additional one million sheep crossing over into the eastern states, a falling wool price and water supply issues that may lead to a reduction of the sheep flock. In some areas, fleece weights are also lighter this season, making for easier shearing.

Of course, this is another example of the need to develop our own local skills. In the months prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government had run shearing programs with Australian Wool Innovation for Aboriginal people in Northampton and Brookton. I believe that quite a number of those people are now working successfully in shearing teams. We recently held a second Northampton program, and a further course will start in Wellstead next week. We are not suggesting that this will solve the problem immediately, but it shows us the need to try harder to skill our own people rather than relying on imported labour.