Travel Restrictions Pose Some Challenges Amongst Businesses
Pleass Global Limited has raised concerns on its inability to procure spare parts for its machinery from overseas. This is because of the international travel restrictions posed from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Managing director Warwick Pleass said it would become a pointless exercise to send money overseas for machines that the company may not get for some time.
He shared his concerns during the Post 2020 - 2021 Budget Forum Q & A session organised by Fiji-Australia Business Council on Thursday with Fiji-New Zealand Business Council where Attorney - General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz SayedKhaiyum was the keynote speaker.
He noted that traditionally, the company would send its engineers to Australia and China to undergo training on machinery before its arrival to Fiji.
“I was very vocal early on in the area of COVID about getting spare parts in because the machinery we use, we can’t carry old parts in Fiji. “We can’t plan in advance, they (engineers) have to come in by plane so aeroplanes are really important not just for tourists,” he said.
The bottling company is planning to invest further into its 420 acres of freehold land as part of its long term goal.
The company had announced earlier this year of a new production line for bottle water and glass bottles.
The board of Pleass Global Limited has already met and approved a scheme to carry out this development.
Australia
Australian High Commissioner to Fiji, John Feakes said while regular freight flights from Auckland to Nadi and to Australia continues, Fiji has been superb in its efforts to be a COVID contained country.
“We understand absolutely how important getting Australian tourists back in Fiji and the agents have had a couple of conversations with our Government about that to reinforce that point and have written to my Minister emphasising the importance of travel so we will move as quickly as we can,” he said. Mr Feakes said while Fiji has well positioned itself to enter the travel bubble, Australians posed a risk of bringing coronavirus to Fiji.
“But we are absolutely seeing the importance of this issue to the Fiji economy.
“The Government here has made it crystal clear the work on the Bula Bubble is immensely helpful because it shows that a lot of the thinking that will go into travel between the two or three countries has already been done. But as you know, the situation in Australia is still pretty bad, particularly in Victoria,” he said.
He said: “We have absolutely seized the importance of this issue to the Fiji economy, the Government here has made it crystal clear the work on the Bula Bubble is immensely helpful because it shows that a lot of the thinking that will go into travel between the two or three countries has already been done but as you know, the situation in Australia is still pretty bad, particularly in Victoria.”
New Zealand
New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Fiji Jonathan Curr said while discussions continued on the travel bubble, pandemic management was an important criteria countries in the safe travel zone need to meet. He said there were some very complicated pieces of work that need to be carried out for the travel bubble.
“This includes ensuring that arriving and departing passengers from COVID contained countries and NON-COVID counties do not mingle while transiting at any airport.” Mr Curr said while New Zealand has had a special responsibility to some countries, no discussions have been made about Cook Islands in relations to a bubble.
Fiji
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum reiterated the importance of the careFIJI App as one of the ways people can actually assess its businesses capacity to deal with a pandemic.
He said it would be irresponsible for businesses to not have the careFIJI App.
“Numerous studies from Oxford University, shows that digital contact tracing is one of the best ways of contact tracing as it is very efficient and can be done really quickly.
“So all of you if you don’t have the careFIJI app on your phone, you are actually being very irresponsible. “You want to talk about business, you want to talk about travel, you want to talk about the travel bubble, and you’re completely irresponsible by not having the app because this is actually a team effort.”
So far about 50,000 people in Fiji have downloaded the careFIJI app. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said downloading the careFIJI App would also give more credibility and confidence to travelers to come to Fiji.
“If you are able to go to Australia, New Zealand, if we’re able to say to them, look guys, 30 per cent or 40 per cent of our population actually have downloaded the app.
“It gives them more credibility when you stand up and say let’s open up the travel bubble, gives us more confidence to the people who to travel to Fiji,” he said.
Australia Fiji Business Council
Australia Fiji Business Council president Allison Haworth connected virtually to the forum seeking clarification on which category Overnight Cruising would fall under in terms of the travel bubble. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said: “We want the bubbles to be maintained so to go on a cruise trip is a no, it won’t work because you know we have to build up the level of confidence. “But of course if New Zealand becomes COVID contained and assuming New Zealand becomes COVID contained but Australia is not and we still have the trail and the Bula bubble with Australians, the resorts the Australians will go to, the New Zealand tourists won’t go to that resort because there is an opportunity for cross contamination.
“So Kiwis can go to the other resorts, but the Australians will go to a dedicated resort because Australians are coming from a country that is not COVID contained so again that’s a separate pathway if you like.”
The Post 2020 - 2021 Budget Forum Q & A Session was held at Holiday Inn, Suva.