Community & Business
16 November, 2024
Accommodating farm workers
WORKER accommodation for the region’s farm sector will be given a major boost after a Mareeba farming operation was given the go-ahead to triple its onsite facilities.
A proposal to expand accommodation at the Dusty Nuts property on Vicary Road from 24 people to 72 was approved by Mareeba Shire Council at its meeting on 16 October.
The move follows controversial debate over whether farmworker accommodation next to a banana plantation would risk introducing Panama T4 disease, which is a major threat to the banana industry.
The 1 hectare property is accessed via an undeveloped section of the Mines Road reserve and a private driveway. While zoned rural, an assessment report on the council agenda said the physical shape, size and location of the land gave it “little agricultural viability”.
“The proposed reuse of the site to provide farm worker accommodation, which will directly support the Shire’s agricultural sector, is considered a reasonable and beneficial outcome,” the report said.
In 2023, following a heated Panama disease debate, council approved a sized-down application for a facility to accommodate 24 farm workers which began operating in March 2024. Since then, the owners had been inundated with requests for more accommodation.
In a letter accompanying the recent Material Change of Use application, Dusty Nuts owners said they had had “dozens of requests for large numbers (in the hundreds) looking for worker accommodation”.
“With the numbers of workers increasing to accommodate the region’s agricultural sector, a purpose-built facility outside town limits with effective management controls seems a better option than unsupervised, overcrowded houses within the CBD of Mareeba,” the letter said.
The council report agreed there was “an identified shortage of accommodation within our region for farm workers” and the development would help meet some of this demand.
“The proposed development makes efficient use of the site and has been appropriately conditioned to ensure minimal impact on surrounding agricultural land uses.”
The new expansion would involve a Stage 2 construction of 12 modular donga units (for an extra 24 workers), together with new common areas, kitchens, laundries, toilets and showers. Stage 3 would repeat the process and include a covered area.
Solid screen fencing and landscape buffering would be added to block the adjoining banana plantation. Other conditions included onsite management, driveway improvements, noise, lighting, waste storage and signage.
Concerns over Panama T4 were again lodged by the neighbouring plantation, which also incorporates Airport FNQ Pty Ltd.
Its submission to council said the new development also did not provide sufficient recreational area, which would force workers to “move beyond the bounds of the property, towards our banana plantation, again increasing the biosecurity risk to our farm”.
A third objection was over the workers’ proximity to regular plantation aerial spraying, which “would only take a small wind change to cause drift across the property” and could “cause potentially catastrophic consequences” and unacceptable risk to the workers’ health and wellbeing.
Council responded by saying a condition of approval was the installation of a footbath to help ensure workers’ footwear was decontaminated before coming on-site. It noted most farm worker buses were not permitted on site.
Additionally, the obligation should be on all banana farms to reduce the risk of Panama leaving their properties by ensuring workers are appropriately decontaminated before they depart a farm.
The council report also dismissed the claim of inadequate recreational space, stating there was ample room for both outdoor and undercover activities. It added that the accommodation was only 8 km from the Mareeba township, which offered many activities.
Dusty Nuts owners also responded to the submission in correspondence to council saying there had been no complaints from the adjoining banana plantation since the first stage of accommodation began. The owners had installed a 2 m high colour bond and chain mesh fence on the east and south boundaries to eliminate any risks of personnel entering the plantation.
They also noted the plantation had no boundary fencing to discourage feral animals or humans from entering.
Aerial spraying was used widely throughout the Mareeba area with many farmhouses and businesses subject to aerial drift. No issues had been raised.
Council approved the application with no further discussion.
