Immigration Minister, Kris Faafoi, is considering extending visas for overseas workers for the third time to help the wine industry with next year’s harvest.
This would be the third time the visas would be extended and it could push their expiry date into next year.
During the wine industry’s downtime, overseas vineyard workers who stayed in Marlborough to ensure this year’s vintage went ahead, remain out of work and rely on handouts from the Red Cross.
Faafoi, who was in Marlborough on Thursday, said with the continual border closures, sectors such as the viticulture and horticulture industries will continue to struggle to get the workforce needed for harvest.
Faafoi also encouraged employers to prioritise employing locals who are out of work as well as .
