Cairns Covid-19: Pro-choice movement hold meeting, protest in Port Douglas and Mossman

A former councillor and prominent business people are among a coalition fighting against mandatory vaccinations in this Far North tourist mecca amid concerns some operators “will be wrecked”.

A FORMER councillor and a number of prominent business people are among a coalition fighting against mandatory vaccination for employees and to keep the Douglas Shire “segregation and discrimination free”.

The Keep PD Free group, which has over 150 members on Facebook, is planning a protest at Douglas Shire Council Chambers on Tuesday led by former councillor Rod Davis and Paradise Pilates instructor Ness Breden.

A “Freedom to Choose” meeting for business owners, employees and customers was also held at the Port Douglas Community Hall on Thursday night “to protect those businesses being wrecked” on December 17 when the Queensland borders reopen to all interstate tourists.

Cape Tribulation business owner Lawrence Mason says there is a “cold anger” in the Daintree about mandatory vaccinations for some workers. Picture: Marc McCormack

More than 300 people attended the meeting.
It comes as the owner of Mason’s Cafe at Cape Tribulation, Lawrence Mason, said there was a “cold anger” sweeping the Daintree Rainforest over Queensland Government mandates for employees within the tourism sector to get double jabbed.

He, and many others on social media, have compared it to the “South African Apartheid” and said the staffing shortage crippling the Douglas Shire would get “a lot worse” with many employees refusing to be inoculated, meaning they’ll have to be stood down.

“My estimate is 60 to 70 per cent of the population north of the river are not vaccinated, and won’t be,” he said.

“Most of them are the younger crowd, so what we have here is literally our working class north of the Daintree who are unvaccinated.

“In this current environment when no one can come into Queensland, how do we find vaccinated staff?

“So we are presented with this wonderful opportunity on December 17 to make a lot of money and catch up for what we’ve lost, but we lose all our staff.”

Mr Mason, who is full vaccinated, has informed three staff members they’ll be unemployed once the borders fling open.

Mason's Cafe at Cape Tribulation will be forced to sack three staff who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Photo: Supplied.

In a letter sent to Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Federal Leichardt MP Warren Entsch, Cook MP Cynthia Lui, Douglas Shire Mayor Michael Kerr, Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Mark Olsen and Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree chief Tara Bennett, Mr Mason said the Daintree attracted “alternative people” who want to live a “non-mainstream lifestyle”.

He estimated Cape Tribulation businesses would lose more than 30 employees.

“We believe that given the unvaccinated can attend shops, bottle shops, public transport, and even cafes to buy takeaway food, that penalising staff who are unvaccinated makes no logical sense,” the letter states.

“In fact, it has made these people even more determined not to vaccinate.”

Ms Breden, who is also calling for the laws to be abandoned, said there was “genuine concern” among the Port Douglas community.

“I haven’t met anyone who isn’t,” she said.

“It is people who run businesses and workers, it is people that are vaccinated and unvaccinated.

“And it’s people who just believe they should be able to make that decision for themselves.

“There is no good reason for people to be forced, coerced, left jobless or unable to have a profitable business because of the choices of other people.”

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Originally published as Cairns Covid-19: Pro-choice movement hold meeting, protest in Port Douglas and Mossman