Good point. And redirecting taxpayer funding from people power, especially lower skilled immigrants, into mechanisation and similar would actually increase productivity. For example New Zealand has already developed and exported apple packing technology, replacing low waged humans (if they can get them). That company, RoboticsPlus, has other products up and running or in development. ACC has invested in their log scaling technology that will reduce potentially thousands of ACC claims.
In the UK an experimental field of I think maize was developed and harvested completely untouched by human hand. Very expensive. But Moore's Law.