By mid-2102, as more businesses closed and produce rotted in untended fields, state and territory governments were forced to concede that a society could not function well without an adequate workforce. The failure to attract workers from overseas was finally acknowledged, as was the continuing tide of illegal departures, unstemmed despite increased coastal surveillance.
The southern state of Victoria was the hardest hit by a diminishing labour force, due in part to the large number of factories located in and around its capital, Melbourne. Other contributing factors included the myriad revelations that had surfaced during the previous year, confirming for most Victorians that the politicians buttressed behind the stone walls of Parliament House, were not only corrupt but actively encoura
