Sydney restaurants ‘flabbergasted’ at 20-person booking cap backflip

Premier Dominic Perrottet has reimposed a 20-person cap on hospitality bookings, leaving the industry “flabbergasted.” See how the backflip unfolded here.

The hospitality industry is “flabbergasted” that a 20-person booking cap will be reimposed at the 80 per cent vaccination threshold.

Former Deputy Premier John Barilaro told industry last week that the cap would be removed when the state hit 80 per cent double-dose rates.

Restaurant and Catering Australia CEO Wes Lambert said the government confirmed there would be a “no person limit” in hospitality in documents that had been “widely disseminated” over the weekend.

“It is an absolute slap in the face, and will throw the industry into chaos from the 80 per cent mark as everyone had relied upon the documentation released from the NSW government,” he said.

“We are quite disappointed that the government this morning has confirmed that the booking cap of 20 people is correct,” Mr Lambert said.

Jobs Minister Stuart Ayres denied the government had changed the rules to remove the 20-person booking cap when the 80 per cent threshold had been reached.

However, the road map outlined on the NSW government website states that at 80 per cent, there will be “no person limit in hospitality settings”.

Senior ministers are understood to be working with industry, and discussing the cap with health officials.

“We are committed to reopening as safely and quickly as we can,” Premier Dominic Perrottet said.

“As demonstrated by the changes we’ve made to the 70 per cent roadmap we are always open to reviewing and making changes to the settings if it’s appropriate.”