For farmers worried about the uncertainty over the controversial backpackers tax, Barnaby Joyce has a message: ring Bill Shorten.
That was the deputy prime minister's response to questions over concerns about the long-running row over the taxation of backpacker pay.
It follows evidence given to a Senate committee in Canberra on Wednesday that debate about the tax - first slated at 32.5 per cent and then revised to 19 per cent - will result in fewer working holiday makers to pick fruit this summer.
That means farmers will have to either reduce plantings or leave tonnes of fruit unpicked.
National Farmers Federation general manager Sarah McKinnon said that seasons didn't wait for parliament to resolve these issues.
Asked if accepts any of the blame for the delay, Mr Joyce told ABC radio: "I can tell (farmers) what to do. Call (Opposition Leader) Mr Bill Shorten of the Australian Labor Party and also some of the crossbenchers and ask why they are holding it up in the Senate."
The revised tax package cleared the House of Representatives last week, but Labor wants a Senate committee to scrutinise the plan before it's debated in the upper house.
"We're not holding it up in the Senate - the Labor Party are," Mr Joyce said.
Labor defended its actions, saying the shambles of the backpacker tax was further exposed at the hearing.
The opposition would continue to investigate the impact of the tax to ensure that it was fully understood and any unintended consequences were taken into consideration.
Labor said it was political spin to blame the opposition for the delay given it was the coalition which started the whole saga with its original 32.5 per cent proposal.
Opposition agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon said the issue would be resolved by the end of the year.
"I've made an absolute commitment that in some shape or form this bill will be through the parliament before the house rises before Christmas," he told the National Farmers Federation congress on Thursday.
