For one Northern Tasmanian berry farm, the arrival in the state of more than 150 seasonal workers from Tonga represents "the last piece of the puzzle" for a fruitful harvest season.
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Hillwood Berries, located on the banks of the Tamar River about 25 kilometres north of Launceston, will employ 45 of the 162 workers that entered hotel quarantine after touching down in Hobart on Monday evening, at a time when no other passengers were present in the terminal.
Many of the other workers will go to a number of Costa's farms in the Devonport area.
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Farm manager Simon Dornauf said the workers had nine-month visas and would begin working at Hillwood - which produces strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries - once their 14-day quarantine was over.
"[They will] ensure that we get the crops fully picked this season," he said. "The guys that are currently with us ... have been doing some considerably long days at the moment, so it'll just ease the burden on those guys once they get out of the quarantine period."
"These guys have sort of been the last piece of the puzzle for us."
Speaking in Launceston on Monday, Premier Peter Gutwein said the Tongan workers would all have returned a negative COVID test before journeying to Tasmania.
"Importantly, as well, at this point in time my understanding is that Tonga has not had one reported case of the virus," he said.
The guys that are currently with us ... have been doing some considerably long days at the moment, so it'll just ease the burden on those guys once they get out of the quarantine period.
- Simon Dornauf, Hillwood Berries farm manager
Mr Dornauf said Hillwood Berries' season typically lasted for five-to-six months. He noted that once Hillwood's season ended, the remaining seasonal workers would go to work at other farms in Australia, such as in Queensland.
"We are in the middle of our peak [of the season] right now," he said. "So they're going to miss that but that's just the nature of the quarantine windows that we've had."
"But because they're here for a longer period, then a lot of our guys hopefully will be able to go home in the coming months. These guys will be able to kick on through the winter period for us, as well as prepare the farm for the next season."
There are currently roughly 260 seasonal workers at Hillwood Berries, and a further 100 locals.
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