OUT of the 815 extra foreign workers approved to enter Australia, so far none of them will be picking oranges at Gunnible Pastoral Company.
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Business owner Robert Hoddle said the state government's announcement to bring the extra workers in from Pacific Island countries didn't benefit him.
The lack of a subsidised cost to bring in these overseas fruit pickers means he may have no-one for harvest in June.
"We get hit with that $3000 ... it's not like we're bringing in someone full time, we're only doing it for 6-8 weeks," Mr Hoddle said.
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The state government announced last week it was granting conditional approval for the extra workers from Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tonga, and Vanuatu.
Agriculture minister Adam Marshall said it was a "welcome boost for our primary producers".
"We have been working very closely with industry to achieve this positive outcome, and I am delighted for our farmers who will receive a vital boost to their workforce," Mr Marshall said.
"[The] announcement isn't a silver bullet, but it is a welcome boost to our workforce and we will continue to work to see more workers arrive in the coming months."
To ensure NSW remains COVID-safe, all incoming workers will be required to undergo two weeks' hotel quarantine according to all public health orders.
But Mr Hoddle wants to see more from the state government.
He said the cost of bringing in the workers was simply too high, and needed to be subsidised in some way to ease the strain on employers.
"We're still waiting for further announcements from the NSW government."
Quarantining in Tamworth has been ruled out, too, so overseas workers need to stay in a hotel in the city before making their way to the North West.
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro made this declaration earlier this month, saying at the time "any quarantine arrangement for seasonal workers will not be taking place in Tamworth, nor any other regional location".
"We just need a plan on how to quarantine foreign workers," Mr Hoddle said.
"The Tamworth idea has been scuttled so I don't know what else can be done."
A media spokesperson for Mr Marshall said an announcement about the situation would be coming in the future.