Covid detection
As you will be aware, four cases of Covid-19 were detected in Auckland on Tuesday, and has resulted in a Level 3 lockdown in Auckland and Level 2 applying elsewhere. Yesterday morning I was on a call with MPI Director-General and Minister O’Connor, to get the latest advice regarding essential industries, etc. The same rules as last time apply, and I would like to reiterate what the Minister said – that if anyone has symptoms to get tested for Covid-19.
Under Alert Levels 3 and 2, all businesses and services are required to display the official NZ Covid Tracer QR code posters in a prominent place at or near the main entrances to each of their premises. Businesses have seven days to have this in place.
For more information see our news item on posters here or the Ministry of Health information here.
No MPI essential business registration (or re-registration) is required at this point.
Export
On Tuesday, Summerfruit NZ met with officials from Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry for Primary Industries in Wellington. The purpose of our meeting was to get a read on the airfreight situation, receive an update on the Government airfreight support scheme, and put our case for support that can enable sufficient capacity for the summerfruit export season. Ministers are currently deciding on the continuation of the existing airfreight capacity support scheme, currently due to expire at the end of August. We received a positive hearing and will continue to work with government on the export crop estimates, forecasting of demand and tracking of capacity, but there is clearly an expectation on the industry to cooperate in these uncertain times.
The forecasts of scheduled air services are still very uncertain and everyone should be looking in detail at the potential risks in what will be a highly unique season, all the way from orchard to the market. Our key message to all parties is to closely examine all critical points in the growing season and the supply chain to identify potential risks, and key decision points. Certainty remains a rare commodity but we are working to bring some confidence on airfreight support.
Labour
Summerfruit NZ continues to drive the industry plan for attracting seasonal staff to our regions for the harvest, and with HortNZ and others in Wellington, on the necessary processes with government to make all possible labour sources available. That work is focused on making visa holders who are otherwise unemployed available for work to support the export-led recovery. Certainty about what that looks like is not yet available, but rest assured that all of the industry parties understand both our demand numbers and the seasonal timing, and this is being strongly communicated with officials.
In the meantime, the issue of accommodation in Hawke's Bay and Central Otago looks set to be a challenge for different cohorts of seasonal workers. The Level 4 lockdown in March demonstrated there is a potentially large volume of capacity within communities and we encourage everyone to examine all options within your communities to house students, unemployed Kiwis, and other potential workers.
RSE ATRs
The issue of ATR processing time has been raised by a number of growers with us recently. This is different by region and we are working with Ministry for Social Development and Immigration NZ to resolve the delays.
The guidance on applying for ATRs is however to go ahead with both your normal ATR application, and also an application for ‘stranded’ RSE workers if you intend to employ additional RSE workers.