Australian fruit picker says farmers more shocked than welcoming despite labour shortage

Australian fruit picker Reilly Wilson works on a north Queensland farm but she says she’s a rarity.

Ms Wilson says some employers are still hesitant to employ Australian residents, despite an ongoing national labour shortage.

Ms Wilson said she made the decision to relocate from Brisbane to Ayr, south of Townsville, as the pandemic gripped Australia’s largest cities in early 2020.

But finding work was more difficult than she had anticipated.

“It was a bit harder for me, because I was told that not having to fulfil a visa and having to be…