Member for South West Coast Roma Britnell says if the South Australian Government won’t open its border to Victoria, it must fully implement the National Agriculture Workers’ Code to ensure the industry can continue to operate effectively across state lines.
Ms Britnell said it was imperative that South Australia mirrored arrangements that New South Wales has put in place to allow the free movement of product and people.
“This code was announced in September, but the SA Government is yet to implement it,” she said.
“This is creating all sorts of issues for farmers and the wider agriculture industry. The South Australian Government’s continued hard border with Victoria is making the situation harder than it needs to be.
“New South Wales has the code fully implemented and the major issues have been removed.
“Ideally, South Australia needs to open its border, Victoria’s numbers are low and the hard border has split communities, interrupted work and caused headaches for industry.
“If they won’t do that, they need to implement this code so that as a bare minimum, the essential service that is agriculture can continue unabated.”
