New minister promises to tackle region's agriculture skills shortage

Member for Wannon Dan Tehan raised concerns the visa category would go - something he is not happy about because it was designed to help fill a skills shortage.

But new Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said dealing with workforce shortages was an immediate priority for the agriculture sector and for him in his new role.

"The former government allowed this problem to fester and it's having a massive impact on local farmers," he said.

"Prior to the election, Labor made clear that we do not support the AgVisa in the form put forward by the former government.

"We will, however, be working with the industry to strengthen the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme to ensure farm businesses can access overseas workers.

"We will also put a focus on training Australian workers to take up the many exciting job opportunities in agriculture."

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Mr Watt said he looked forward to meeting with industry representatives and other stakeholders to hear firsthand their views on how to solve the workforce issues facing the sector.

He said he would host a roundtable in coming weeks.

Mr Watt said that while in opposition, the Labor Party had committed to phasing out live sheep exports. "And we will deliver on our commitment," he said. "No timeframe has been set for phase out."

However, he said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had made clear it would not be done within this term of government.

"This gives us the opportunity to consult closely with industry and other interested parties to progress the phase out in an orderly and considered way," he said.

"We want to take the opportunity to increase the amount of onshore processing, to create more local jobs in our regions.

"Consultation will include careful consideration of the impact across the entire value chain."

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