Backpacker tax could hit fruit harvest

The fruit industry is at risk from a measure the government is "hell bent" on including in the federal budget, an independent senator has warned.

Nick Xenophon, tipped to be a key powerbroker in the parliament after the expected July 2 election, has taken aim at the so-called `backpacker tax' saying it may threaten the industry's ability to harvest produce.

"It could well have very negative and counter-productive effects, because I don't think the government will collect anywhere near the amount of revenue as they think it will," Senator Xenophon told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.