BACK OUR BUSINESSES

COVID-19 has brought the Gold Coast’s tourism industry to its knees and the lifeblood small business network that makes up this city’s attractive offering needs every bit of it help it can get.

This year has been one like no other, where the certainties of society and the calendar have been wiped away, replaced with an anxious wait for a vaccine, something which could be years away.

It goes without saying that each and every one of us is living through a truly significant moment in history and our political leaders have no playbook to work on when making life-changing decisions.

The State Government’s move to revive hard border closures again on Saturday was a harsh but necessary step to guard Queensland against the dramatic upswing in positive COVID cases in Victoria and the perceived concerning situation in NSW. The debate continues on whether it was necessary to put the block to all of NSW in place and particularly adding ACT which was justified by the State on the basis of a backdoor entry into Queensland via someone dishonestly using Canberra as a transit point.

Nobody wanted to see the borders close but the number of untruthful people attempting to deceive their way across the border has tested the State Government’s patience to breaking point.

But Gold Coasters understand the struggle and are willing to put in the hard yards if it means keeping the state safe and keeping their doors open.

With this in mind, the State Government must now come to the party and do something for business, particularly those in the struggling hospitality sector.

With interstate and international tourism out of the question right now, the city’s biggest sector is stuck in neutral and feeding off intrastate tourism and local custom as best it can to keep things ticking over for the sake of their bottom line and for their staff.

Having the handbrake of restrictions on patron limits and seating requirements is going to really grind their gears, if not already.

That will be especially so if the numbers stay where they are on the Gold Coast – which as of last week was at two, but that was a man who had been in hospital for six weeks and was no longer infectious but dealing with complications brought on by having the virus, and a returning nurse who had gone on a mercy dash to Melbourne. She has been in isolation since returning.

With borders closed and the risk of transmission low, the State Government will face its self-nominated D-Day today and must consider relinquishing restrictions on our traders.

This would provide not only a shot of confidence into the arm of the sector but also help our struggling economy.

Destination Gold Coast’s CEO Annaliese Battista rightfully points out that these businesses are the lifeblood of the city and need all the support which can be mustered in their hour of need.

Now is the time for the Gold Coast to back itself, and for the state to do the same.

So message to Ms Palaszczuk – take the next step in learning to live with COVID-19 and loosen the shackles internally.