TOURISM TEETERING
Premier is killing us, says operator
BLEEDING Gold Coast tourism operators say Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk needs to see the impact border closures and unprecedented pandemic restrictions are having on livelihoods.
Ms Palaszczuk was on the Gold Coast at the weekend but met up with hotshot movie director Baz Luhrmann – her sit-down on the Glitter Strip with the suffering tourism industry is not expected until at least tomorrow.
Aquaduck general manager Sarah Colgate said her decision to keep the state isolated from the rest of Australia showed she was “massively out of touch – the border situation is outrageous”.
“She is single-handedly killing tourism in Queensland,” Ms Colgate said.
A TOP Gold Coast tourism operator is accusing Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk of “single-handedly killing tourism in Queensland” by persisting with border closures.
Aquaduck general manager Sarah Colgate, furious at the tourism sector being largely snubbed by Ms Palaszczuk who visited the Coast on Saturday, said the Premier’s decision to keep Queensland isolated from the rest of Australia showed she was “massively out of touch”.
“The border situation is outrageous, absolutely outrageous. Annastacia Palaszczuk is single-handedly killing tourism in Queensland,” she said.
Ms Palaszczuk attended a media event at Southport Yacht Club with film director Baz Luhrmann, but failed to meet operators struggling to stay afloat because of strict border restrictions.
“I want the Premier to have a chat, we’ll show her what it’s like,” Ms Colgate said. “She should take a walk through Surfers Paradise, there’s nothing open, and Mariner’s Cove is so dead. She needs to now turnaround and support the businesses in Queensland, and the majority of those are tourism businesses.”
Jet Ski Safari’s manager Jed Ashon-Hill said staying open wasn’t making them any money but was helping the mental health of staff.
“She’s trying to look after our health and wellbeing but isn’t mental health of tourism operators just as important? People are going to go bankrupt and jump off a bridge, it was a problem before COVID-19 and just going to get worse.”
Ms Palaszczuk has stuck to the advice of the state’s top medical advisor to keep the border block in place.
A July reopening has been dubbed reliant on everything going “perfectly” while a September reopening was called “more realistic” last week – with no guarantee the border might be open by then.
During the weekend, Queensland Health reported three new confirmed cases of coronavirus, none of them on the Gold Coast. Two new cases on Saturday were diagnosed interstate and not acquired in Queensland.
One new case yesterday was linked to Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service. The Gold Coast has had 195 cases in total, including two active cases.
On Saturday, Ms Palaszczuk promised at some stage this week she would meet Gold Coast tourism industry representatives and Mayor Tom Tate. She has said the border closure would be reviewed monthly.
“We’ve accepted their invitation to come down and have a chat and we intend to do that,” Ms Palaszczuk said on Saturday.
Not everyone has a border beef. Get Wet Surf owner Kerri Jekyll says she “took her hat off” to Ms Palaszczuk and feared another virus wave if borders opened early.
“For our business model we are fine, but I do feel for my fellow tourism operators who need bigger numbers to open and survive.”