Grain Receival Sites

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (15:11): My question is to the minister for primary production. Can the minister advise what will happen in the event of a COVID outbreak at a grain receival site, whether that site might be shut down, forcing primary producers to travel to more inconvenient locations during middle harvest?

The Hon. D.K.B. BASHAM (Finniss—Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development) (15:11): I thank the member for Narungga for his important question and, as we all know, Yorke Peninsula is such an important part of the grain-growing areas of South Australia, and it certainly has an important part in delivering grain into the South Australian coffers. We have almost 1.5 million tonnes of grain that are going to be coming off Yorke Peninsula this year.

Certainly, we do have the challenges of managing COVID and making sure that we do not have disruptions, particularly during harvest. This is the second year we have seen these disruptions during harvest having some sort of effect on the delivery into those receival points. Talking with Viterra, which is by far the largest receiver of grains in the state, they have been very conscious of the challenges that may be faced not just in managing workforce. We have seen the government invest and commit to making planning opportunities much smoother to allow workforces to be located on site to make sure that we have an opportunity to make sure we have enough workers at site to actually deliver the grain to.

Viterra also continue to develop their strategies to minimise the risks. They have moved to contactless delivery so the drivers will not interact with staff. The drivers will not be getting out of their trucks where staff on the sites are and so there will not be direct contact, limiting the opportunity for infections to occur. If there was an unfortunate detection of an infection that did lead to an issue at a site, Viterra informed me that they have contingency plans in place. They would probably shut the site for about 24 hours while they do a significant clean.

At that point in time, yes, there would be some diversions to nearby sites, but they apparently have mapped out the opportunities and how that could be done. They are also running split shifts, so if there is an outbreak they can limit the number of staff who have to be put into quarantine to manage the risk. This will mean that they are able to continue receiving grains very quickly at those sites. They believe that they will be able to have people back there operational within 24 hours.

They also have alternate workers who will be able to be brought onto those sites if there is a workforce issue in relation to a particular site. I think particularly Viterra has certainly done an enormous amount of work and I thank them and also all the other people involved in the industry to manage through this difficult time. They have made their businesses work and made sure that they will continue to deliver for South Australia and the farmers to make sure they are there at that critical time of bringing grain into our receivable depots.

I wish the farmers and those receiving the grain all the best for harvest as we head into an important part of the year. We wish them the right weather conditions, and that they are able to bring this grain harvest in and deliver $2.8 billion worth of grain into our economy.