COAST OFF A CLIFF

Plea to PM for extension of assistance

GOLD Coast Mayor Tom Tate is pleading for JobKeeper to be extended or predicts the city economy will “fall off a cliff” when it expires at the end of March.

Cr Tate, with the backing of city business leaders, is urging Prime Minister

Scott Morrison to keep the payments – aimed at helping employers retain staff – for an extra three months to the end of June.

Cr Tate: “The problem we face is we’ll get to Christmas and everyone will be all right but for us the downturn will start right after the holidays.”

MAYOR Tom Tate warns the Gold Coast will “go off a cliff” as early as February unless the federal government extends JobKeeper three months.

Cr Tate is pleading with Prime Minister Scott Morrison not to axe JobKeeper or other stimulus from March 30 but keep it until June 30, buying more time for struggling businesses to get back on their feet.

A Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Pulse Survey on Monday showed 99 per cent of Coasters polled fear they’ll only survive for a year once COVID-19 economic stimulus ends. But the Morrison Government is holding firm and blaming the state government for the economic woes.

Cr Tate said the Gold Coast would face an economic crisis after the summer holidays ended unless the government intervened. “We need to see JobKeeper extended until the end of the financial year because, more than any other place, it is keeping Gold Coasters employed. We’re the capital of small and medium business in this country and an extra three months will give people the chance to get back on their feet which is crucial,” he said.

“The problem we face is we will get to Christmas and everyone will be all right but for us the downturn will start right after the holidays, earlier than the rest.”

Business leaders have long feared the economy and unemployment rate would “go off a cliff” at the end of March once JobKeeper winds up.

But Cr Tate warned the cliff would come for the city at the start of February, with a giant downturn thanks to the lack of the annual lucrative influx of Chinese visitors for lunar new year.

“The cliff is coming for the Coast in February and this is the straw which could break the camel’s back. There will be nobody coming from China for this, our hotels will go from 100 per cent capacity to 40 per cent and nobody has considered this yet.

“For small businesses, overheads have been cut to the bone and they will start losing money very quickly.”

Cr Tate said the council was trying to fast-track projects to cushion the blow but warned its own moves would be a “drop on the ocean” compared to federal government stimulus.

Chinese New Year annually brings more than 40,000 tourists to the city and directly injects $20 million.

May Government figures show the Gold Coast has been one of the hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis. More than 27,000 Glitter Strip businesses had applied for JobKeeper, for 100,000 staff. Federal Government paid out $150 million a fortnight.

Destination Gold Coast chairman Paul Donovan warned of an “extremely tough” period in early 2021.

“Tourism businesses are hurting more than ever and with eight weeks until Christmas we need to ensure we can pump some income into them now but more importantly after.

“The period until the end of the financial year is going to be extremely tough, so the continuation of federal assistance would be so appreciated because the Gold Coast is hurting more than anywhere.”

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg ignored JobKeeper extension questions. “The best thing for Gold Coast jobs and businesses is for the State Labor Government to lift border restrictions to get the tourists back. The Morrison Government has provided $24 billion in direct economic support to Queenslanders whereas the Palaszczuk Government has only provided $7.3 billion.”