Federal Government set to allow fruit pickers from Vanuatu into Australia despite coronavirus border closure

The Federal Government is set to permit foreign workers to fly into Australia to help farmers harvest crops despite an inbound travel ban and surging unemployment. Key points: The Federal Government is set to allow up to 200 fruit pickers into the NT The Federal Government is set to allow up to 200 fruit pickers into the NT The workers will come from Vanuatu, which has no recorded cases of COVID-19 The workers will come from Vanuatu, which has no recorded cases of COVID-19 Agriculture Minister David Littleproud says Australians are not willing to migrate to pick fruit The ABC understands the Government is on the cusp of announcing a pilot program that would allow up to 200 workers to travel from Vanuatu to harvest mangoes in the Northern Territory, possibly within weeks. The Northern Territory's Primary Industries Minister Paul Kirby said the Federal Government had "agreed upon and confirmed" the process to allow 200 people from Vanuatu to enter the Northern Territory under the Seasonal Worker Program. "The Federal Government has committed to processing visas for seasonal workers from Vanuatu and allow them entry to Australia," Mr Kirby told the ABC. Earlier this week, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the Government was working on new measures to meet the labour shortage, saying "there's a real aversion from the Australian workforce to go and pick fruit".