The agricultural industry says using a 1,000-bed COVID-19 quarantine facility in south-east Queensland to house workers is a short-term fix — but is not sustainable long term.
The controversial Wellcamp quarantine facility was established last year in response to the pandemic and cost taxpayers more than $220 million in set-up and running costs.
Built on privately owned land at Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport, the facility has housed 730 people since it opened in early 2022 and is the subject of an audit by the Queensland Audit Office, which is due to finalise its findings soon.
The state government this week confirmed that it would not renew its lease at Wellcamp when it expired in April.
The Wagner Corporation, which owns and operates the facility, said beef processors in the region had shown interest in using it to accommodate workers.
"We're just looking for the highest and best use for the property at the moment," chairman John Wagner said.
Mr Wagner would not reveal which companies might use the facility.
"I don't really want to single one out, but they've got an issue with accommodation and hopefully we can help with that issue," he said.
"Hopefully within the next couple of months, we'll start to get people in."
JBS and NH Foods were contacted for comment but neither would confirm involvement.
Sobering housing situation
The Australian Meat Industry Council welcomed solutions to make the industry more accessible.
"It's a fairly sobering picture across Australia," CEO Patrick Hutchinson said.
"We're finding processing companies that are buying motels, they are buying backpacking facilities … hostels, caravan parks [to house workers]."
Mr Hutchinson said the housing shortage was a major contributor to workers leaving the industry.
"We're still probably running at about 80 per cent capacity in processing facilities across Australia and staring down the barrel of a 50 per cent increase in cattle slaughter this year alone," he said.
The quarantine facility is made up of 265 modules of housing with one, two or three-bedroom options.
They also include a bathroom but the kitchen is a communal space.
Mr Hutchinson welcomed a range of accommodation options for employees as their needs varied, such as Pacific Visa Holders who often travelled to Australia with their families.
"There are different accommodation structures that are required for different cohorts of people based on the different needs," Mr Hutchinson said.
No silver bullet
The Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIEU) said while the housing crisis in regional Australia was hitting workers hard, the Wellcamp facility was not a silver bullet.
"For a short-term solution, I think it's a great idea but there has to be a longer-term sort of view for these workers that's more stable and more appropriate," Queensland branch Secretary Matt Journeaux said.
He said abattoir workers employed under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, which allowed eligible businesses to hire workers from overseas, had stipulations on suitable accommodation under the agreement.
"Those PALM workers are here for four years — they are long-term workers that are engaged by the meat processing sector — so the facilities have to be suitable for people who are here for that length of time," he said.
"A communal kitchen for someone who is expected to live there for four years just wouldn't be suitable."
Mr Journeaux said the facility would be better suited to emergency housing such as people fleeing domestic violence, or short-term backpacker accommodation.
But he said the current situation was "not suitable" for workers and called on employers or the government to find a solution.
"There really has to be a housing solution. We just can't keep bringing these workers in without appropriate housing to keep them in," he said.
"Someone has to fix the problem — either the employer that's bringing these people in or the government has to intervene."
