On their very first day out in town, a truck of Fijian workers pulled over to help an elderly lady whose car had broken down by the side of the road in Tamworth.
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Help is in their nature, and more than 50 workers have just finished their 14-day quarantine and are now ready to fill vacant positions for four businesses in the Tamworth region.
Vuate Sukulu and Channel Mario are part of the first batch of workers brought in under the Pacific Labour Scheme by Food Industry People (FIP) Group. FIP Group CEO Brad Seagrott said they'd been waiting since July to get approval to bring 172 workers to NSW.
"Many businesses would be unable to go on without these workers, with their vacancies normally filled by seasonal workers," he explained.
This is the first time the Fijian pair have been in Australia, and are "grateful" for the opportunity to come and work here to support their families back home.
Mr Sukulu would normally be working on his farm and doing other jobs to support his family, however there are no positions available in Fiji. With his wife ready to have his second child in just seven weeks, he found it incredibly hard leaving them and his three-year-old son behind.
"It is hard leaving family, but it's the only way to support them at the moment," Mr Sukulu said.
Mr Mario worked mainly private jobs, like welding. He also left his wife and three kids behind to come for work but welcomed the opportunity.
"I hope the program is extended, because there are so many people in Fiji needing jobs to support their families. Our economy is based heavily on tourism and without it it is very difficult," he said.
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His 24-year-old son came over one year ago to work in Wagga Wagga, so he knew he wasn't coming to the land down under completely blind. Their visas are for three years but they hope to return home for visits, however are mindful of the 14-day quarantine period.
Mr Seagrott thanked the NSW Government for approving this batch of workers, but said in reality an additional 1000 were needed to fill the hole created by the pandemic.
"We'd like to thank minister Adam Marshall for his support. We'd love him to approve another lot because the shortages are only getting worse at the moment, as the entire country is competing for laborers within the agricultural and meat industries - and the workers just aren't there," he said.
Mr Marshall has said the government had developed this particular initiative as a pilot program.
