Postcode 4306: The four digits forcing farmers to turn backpacker workers away

Updated

Who would have thought that a few digits could cause so much distress?

A postcode might seem like a little thing, but in some parts of southern Queensland it is driving people nuts.

"It's very, very frustrating. It's a local issue that's become a massive issue," said avocado grower Andy Veal, from Mount Binga.

He and his wife Judy are tired and stressed out after a busy harvest. The warm, dry winter has meant their trees needed plenty of extra care.

In a perfect world, backpackers would help pick the crop, but for more than a decade the Veals have been turning away working holiday makers.

The problem is their postcode — 4306.

Postcode 4306 is split in two and covers a vast area, from remote Mount Binga to urban outer Ipswich, more than two hours' drive from the Veals' property.

Backpackers who want to extend their visas must prove they have worked in a regional postcode for three months.

The Department of Immigration has a list of postcodes it recognises as regional, but 4306 is not one of them.

"On their visa forms, I have to put postcode 4306 for Mount Binga and straight away that comes up with 'This is not a recognised postcode for a rural application'," Ms Veal said.

Map: Postcode 4306 covers a large rural area. Boundaries approximated. Source: Google

It means people who farm in the area have to do much of the grunt work themselves.

Nuts rot because of lack of help at harvest time

At the organic avocado and macadamia farm next door, Mel Rosentreter cuts a lonely figure in the packing shed.

She would love some company.

"Backpackers are good fun to talk to; they've got stories," she said with a laugh.

But there are none on this property.

Every night she crawls into bed, exhausted because there are not enough people to help.

Macadamia nuts have been rotting on the ground because she cannot harvest them in time.

It is all because of lines on a map and randomly assigned numbers.

"[During the] peak season, sometimes we're getting three or four emails [from backpackers] a week," she said.

"The majority of them are looking for their second-year visa so we just have to say no to them."

The Department of Immigration said regional postcodes were chosen to "address chronic and severe labour market shortages in Australia's major agricultural regions".

But farmers at Mount Binga said local workers were hard to secure because fruit picking was seasonal work.

Issues extend beyond the farm gate

Farmers are not the only ones feeling frustrated.

Locals in the small town of Blackbutt worry that proximity to Ipswich is driving insurance premiums up.

"It really pisses me off," panel beater Neville Dodt said.

But the Insurance Council of Australia insisted premiums were not determined by postcodes.

Locals also complained that mail could take weeks to arrive because of the large postcode area.

Mr Dodt said he waited six weeks for one parcel to arrive.

"[I] rang up about it and they said 'Oh yeah, you should have it'. And we haven't got it."

Australia Post said it was investigating the community's concerns and would provide an update in the weeks ahead.

While some locals want a new postcode, farmers want the Federal Government to intervene to make backpackers eligible for visa extensions.

"I'm just asking for an exemption. Just a simple tick-a-box thing would be great," Ms Rosentreter said.

Mr Veal agreed. "How hard is it? Just fix it."

Topics: rural, community-and-society, crop-harvesting, agricultural-crops, fruit, fruits, agribusiness, farm-labour, blackbutt-south-4306, blackbutt-north-4306, blackbutt-4306, ipswich-4305, east-toowoomba-4350, north-toowoomba-4350, south-toowoomba-4350, toowoomba-4350, toowoomba-city-4350, toowoomba-south-4350, mount-binga-4306, toowoomba-west-4350, toowoomba-east-4350, parliament-house-2600

First posted