Salute Espresso sparks debate over vaccine passports in Coffs Harbour

A Coffs Coast cafe has placed itself at the centre of a storm of public opinion after vowing not to turn away unvaccinated customers.

A Coffs Harbour cafe has found itself at the centre of a debate over pandemic rights after the business vowed it would not refuse service to unvaccinated customers.

Salute Espresso’s ‘All are welcome’ post prompted a torrent of praise and criticism, with hundreds weighing in over the merits of such a stance.

Under a state government ‘road map to freedom’, adults in NSW with two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine would no longer be restricted to stay at home orders, and would enjoy other freedoms when the vaccination rate reaches 70 per cent.

It is expected that under a vaccine passport system, business owners would have to turn away unvaccinated people in certain circumstances unless they had an exemption.

Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh said there was a “lot of nuance” in the debate over increased freedoms considering the difference between experiences in Sydney and the Covid-free region of the North Coast.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro and Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh at Sealy Lookout, Coffs Harbour. Photo: Tim Jarrett

He emphasised the measures were intended to be short-term until the state reached an 80 per cent vaccination rate.

“It is a temporary measure to allow people to open up and allow businesses to trade,” he said.

“It is not a matter of putting more restrictions on unvaccinated people, it’s that fully vaccinated people will have restrictions loosened earlier in places where there is Covid.”

Mr Singh said Covid-19 had often left the government with a choice between “two bad options” and if the alternative to checking the vaccine passports of customers was remaining closed, many small businesses would prefer to open.

“I know it is an impost, but they also have the protection of the law behind them,” he said.

“If they have an unruly customer they will have the support of the police.”

Kellon Beard, Business NSW Regional Manager, Mid North Coast.

Business NSW regional manager Kellon Beard said a lot of health order enforcement had fallen on the shoulders of small businesses and they needed to be recognised for their efforts.

While Mr Beard said the proposed vaccine passports were “very much a trade-off” between opening and ensuring compliance, business had to play its part in protecting the health of staff and the public as the vaccination rate rises.

“While it will be challenging for businesses to ensure customer compliance with the Government’s restrictions, implementing their vaccination status with the Service NSW app will streamline the check-in system for business owners,” he said.

“We have to remember that this is a short-term stepping stone, with more ‘freedoms’ to arrive when we achieve 80 per cent vaccination, which is forecast to be just several weeks away.”