THE SILENCE IS DEAFENING

THERE were two starkly contrasting scenes at different ends of Queensland yesterday.

To the north, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was at Airlie Beach, proudly announcing taxpayer-subsidised flights from Brisbane would be laid on to help tourism in the Whitsundays.

To the south, there was the empty silence of the terminal at Gold Coast Airport.

“Tourism supports one in three jobs in the Whitsundays. We know how crucial this industry is to the livelihoods of people in this region,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“Now is your opportunity to support the Whitsundays.”

Until recently, tourism also supported 42,000 jobs on the Gold Coast, with the airport as the vital gateway for the majority of visitors.

But with the border remaining inexplicably shut and Brisbane residents being encouraged north, the opportunity to support those jobs seems further away than ever.

The figures from the airport are stark, with just 2000 people having passed through the gates last month – a 99 per cent drop in passenger numbers.

It is a devastating blow to an airport in the midst of an impressive $500 million redevelopment designed to ensure continued growth.

The work, including a new terminal and the airport’s first hotel, showed the commitment of owner Queensland Airports to improving the experience of tourists arriving on the Gold Coast. It would have helped grow our market, thus supporting many more jobs.

If only a similar commitment could be shown by the powers that be in Brisbane.

Instead they have left tourism operators here to their fate.

Right now, the airport and all tourism businesses on the Gold Coast should have been gearing up for an influx of winter visitors, grateful that the squashing of coronavirus by the prompt action of both state and federal governments had paved the way for a quick recovery.

Instead, they have been told that the border must remain closed, that fellow Australians must stay away, by a Premier who has swivelled from wanting to “flatten the curve” to seemingly living in fear of the emergence of one more case.

It’s a stance that may leave many tourism businesses needing substantial financial support just to survive the next few weeks.

That’s not something any of them ever wanted. They wanted the chance to trade their way out of trouble. To make their own way through their hard work, their innovation, their ability to put on a famous Gold Coast welcome.

Their staff don’t want to be living off JobKeeper, they want to be in jobs.

The Gold Coast was one of the first places in Australia to record COVID-19 cases, but they have now dropped to almost nothing thanks to the sacrifice of its citizens - most especially those working in the tourism industry.

The reward should have been a bustling terminal at Gold Coast Airport during school holidays at the end of this month.

Instead, there will be more silence, at the airport, at the theme parks – and no doubt from the powers that be in Brisbane.