‘Open up the travel bubble’
PREMIER Peter Gut we in has been too conservative with Tasmania’s hard border strategy and travel bubbles with COVID Safe states should have been established at least a month ago, the state’s peak business body says.
Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Michael Bailey also said the state government should explain its intentions about the potential opening with other jurisdictions such as Victoria and NSW.
The TCCI launched a three-point road to recovery strategy focused on supporting businesses to reopen and stay open, and investing in people and infrastructure.
Mr Bailey urged the government to be upfront about what the guidelines were for borderre openings.
“We need the government to explain what they are looking for in Victoria and NSW to be open for Tasmania,’’ he said. “We need to understand what is it that they are seeking. Is it no COVID numbers in those states? Is it a percentage of COVID cases? But again that transparency is important right now .”
Mr Bailey said Tasmanian borders should be open with destinations such as South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.
“He is too conservative and we believe the bubble should have been open maybe a month ago,’’ he said. “There has been no cases in SA and WA for sometime, we need to open our borders at some stage and we believe it’ s a safer option to do it state by state .”
Mr Bailey also suggested payroll tax be waived for Tasmanian businesses for a period of time to encourage more people to get back to work.
“It’ s a tax that doesn’ t make any sense in a market that we’ re trying to grow ,’’ he said.
Leading Tasmania n commercial baker Cripps said payroll tax inhibited the business.
“Without payroll tax we would be able to employ another 10 full time equivalents ,’’ chief executive Paul Gadomski said. Cripps had been affected by the impacts on the hospitality, accommodation and tourism sectors, he said.
Tasplan chief executive Wayne Davy has thrown his support behind TCCI’s strategy, which was focused on creating jobs and helping the economy to rebound.
“Recovery for the Tasmanian community and the economy from COVID is a critical aspect of getting back to normal life ,’’ he said.
Premier Peter Gutwein said he was surprised by the TCCI’s push, saying the government had implemented many of the measures they called for. He pointed to more than $1bn of economic and social support, much focused on business, and a $3.1bn construction blitz. Mr Gutwein also stood firm on borders.