Chocolate factory owner challenges Labor over backpacker visa ballot
Junee chocolate factory owner Rhiannon Druce warns Labor's ballot system for working holiday visas will hurt regional businesses struggling to hire staff.
Rhiannon Druce runs the Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory with about 70 staff. About 10 per cent of them are backpackers.
Druce is pushing back against the federal government's plan to replace visa guarantees with a lottery system. Under the current rules, backpackers who complete 88 days of regional work get a guaranteed second-year visa.
Labor wants to change it. They will still need the work, but there will be no guarantee.
Instead, they will only enter a ballot for limited places. Druce fears backpackers will simply stay in cities instead.
On a recent factory tour, she spoke with National Party politicians. She told them they should run a business for a month.
This would help them understand the pressures on regional employers.
- 70
- Factory employees
- 10 per cent
- Backpacker proportion
- 88 days
- Regional work required
- Junee
- Factory location
Why it mattersRegional businesses already struggle to hire local workers. They depend on backpackers to stay open and meet demand. A ballot system could make their labour crisis worse.
AustraliaThousands of regional Australian farms, cafes and small businesses would face worse staff shortages if backpackers stop coming to country areas, making services harder to access and prices potentially higher.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 1 h ago
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