Wage theft remains rampant in Australian horticulture, even during COVID-19. This investigative report explores the nature of underpayment and worker exploitation in northern NSW’s blueberry industry, unearthing allegations and evidence of gross underpayment and abuse inflicted upon working holiday-makers and others.

This paper argues that evidence-based planning for state-significant developments, such as gas mines, should balance the trade-offs between short-term economic gains and the long-term solutions for food security and ecosystem services that agriculture provides.

Climate models indicate that New Zealand’s farms will be increasingly exposed to adverse climate events in the future. In this study, the authors empirically investigate drought impacts on farm enterprises by linking financial, agricultural and productivity data from Statistics New Zealand’s Longitudinal Business Database (LBD) with historical weather data from NIWA.

This report combines targeted, transitional and transformational reforms to create new opportunities to ensure a sustainable, climate-smart rural and regional Australia.

The report suggests that land-based industries like livestock, forestry, and agriculture were resilient during New Zealand’s lockdown period earlier this year. The report finds that these fields are coping with a number of uniquely New Zealand-based strengths, along with other factors beyond the country’s control.