HAPPY SHOCK ON CLUB STRIP
mosphere we want to provide,’’ she said. “If rules that allow live music and a nightclub atmosphere return, then we will open.
“Restaurants are allowed to open to 20 per area. We have venues Finn McCool’s (Irish bar) and Jamie Oliver’s Pizzeria under those guidelines, but until we get the all clear about nightclubs, we won’t be opening.”
An OLGR spokesman confirmed nightclubs could open if adhering to dance floor, live music and mingling bans.
“The advice by OLGR on 18
June clarified under stage two, all venues authorised to offer pub, restaurant or bar service can do this. This followed extensive consultation with Queensland Health on how nightclubs could operate safely and in compliance with health directives that apply to other hospitality venues.”
Nightclubs will not be permitted to operate as traditional nightclubs until stage three kicks in on July 10, the OLGR spokesman said.
The restricted nightclub return
comes a week after Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged states to reopen economies but made it clear nightclubs were “not on the agenda”.
Asked about Havana reopening, Mr Morrison’s office said the National Cabinet had agreed a three-step process for easing restrictions. “Each jurisdiction is responsible for their own implementation. When Queensland eases these restrictions is a matter for them,” the office said in a statement.
State Tourism Minister Kate Jones said people should “support local businesses”.
“They’ve done it so tough for such a long time, it’s great to see small businesses on the Gold Coast starting to open,’’ she said. “Because Coasters have done such a great job in fighting COVID-19, we can start to focus more on our economic recovery.
“(But) we’re still in a pandemic and relying on people to adhere to directions from Queensland Health to keep safe.”
DEATH and taxes are two certainties in life.
How the Queensland Government will act in this COVID-19 world is not.
It is inconsistent, as illustrated yesterday with the watershed decision to give a cautious green light to the city’s nightclubs to reopen for business, flying in the face of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s warning a week ago that the clubs were “not on the agenda” because overseas experience had shown they were “an area of failure” in controlling the disease.
Compare the State’s concession to nightclubs to its refusal to reopen the borders, at least before July 10 when it might or might not take down the barriers.
The Gold Coast’s $3 billion night economy certainly needed a defibrillator, so an Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation explanation to nightclubs of how a ruling that allows restaurants and cafes to operate would also permit nightclub licensees to resume trade – albeit limited to serving food and drink “on a seated, separated and served basis”, without entertainment and with a patron limit of one person per four square metres – was the shock needed to put life back into the corpse.
And what a shock it was. When the Bulletin learned of this development, it was apparent several in the nightclub industry were in the dark, giving them just a few hours to prepare if they decided to throw open the doors last night. Extra notice would have been nice for them. Still, it is great to see the lights back on, even with strict controls – and so there should be.
This is not a signal to ignore the hygiene and social distancing rules that have allowed the state and nation to recover so quickly amid a pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands across the globe.
But it is puzzling, given the Premier’s hardline insistence on keeping the state borders barricaded despite the PM’s ramped-up urging to open them for the sake of tourism, jobs and the economy. Mr Morrison insists there is no medical reason for the borders to have been shut. But on the other hand, the Palaszczuk Government – seemingly so worried about the threat of coronavirus coming from other states – is happy enough to ignore his unease about nightclubs.
Virus case numbers are negligible. Queenslanders are back clubbing, even if there is no dancing or mingling. People are dining out. Fans are back in the stadiums for the footy, although numbers are limited to 2000 in Queensland. The lights are turning back on and our world is opening up. Yet the border stays closed and the State won’t confirm its “roadmap” date of July 10 is definite. Go figure.
WE live in a dangerous world, when even small businesses and ordinary Gold Coasters can be targeted by parties driven by malice and criminals wanting to strip people of their cash. The Prime Minister’s warning of major cyber attacks on all levels of government and businesses by a foreign entity is deeply concerning, given the uneasy times we are in as we emerge from pandemic lockdown and a hellish summer of bushfires. We are witnessing increasing destabilisation of governments and old institutions. We must be alert.