‘Industry in ruins’: Border businesses react to hard Queensland closure

One Northern NSW business owner said his business has “fallen off a cliff” amid border traffic gridlock, while an industry expert predicts some local stores may not survive.

Bread Social owners Thomas Scott and Sam Saulwick at work. Picture Glenn Hampson

The owner of a cafe straddling the Queensland-NSW border said “business has just fallen off a cliff” as the region is hit again by hard border closures.

Popular bakery/cafe The Bread Social is located on Bay Street at Tweed Heads, nearby the Wharf Street checkpoint where cars lined up in a cross-border gridlock from Friday, July 23.

It is the third time concrete barriers and checkpoints have been erected on the border in just over a year.

Co-owner Sam Saulwick said he was working hard to “keep up morale” for his close to 80 staff members.

“I certainly feel for our southern neighbours and other businesses in hospitality going through their fifth, sixth lockdown,” he said.

“We’re drumming up the motivation to get going; hospitality requires a lot of people who put their heart and soul into their food and service and when there’s this start/stop it really knocks people around.

‘Our business is one of the luckier ones in that we have a large wholesale element … but for many small businesses, it takes time away from other things and relief from the government is not always as prompt as it should be.”

Popular bakery the Bread Social at Tweed Heads. Picture Glenn Hampson

Mr Saulwick said, similar to the music industry, the local hospitality sector was “in ruins” as a result of continued Covid-19 hits.

“There has been some statewide support in NSW, but only if you’ve had a 30 percent loss in trade,” he said.

“Try and explain that to the 29 percent of staff who lost their jobs.

“I like to think we as a business are ‘all in together’ and come out the other side together but other business have been forced to make some tough calls, saying to casual staff ‘we don’t have a job for you come tomorrow’.”

Mr Saulwick worried, in turn, about the knock-on effect to suppliers as he urged residents to “shop local” to help curb the effect of the latest closures.

“These people put all their life savings and soul into their businesses and through nobody’s fault they’re being taken away from them,” he said.

Tweed Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. President and Tweed Shire Councillor Warren Polglase.

Tweed Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Warren Polglase said it’d be fair to estimate the region could see thousands of dollars lost as a result of this latest lockdown.

“Normally this time of the year, they’d be lot of people moving south to the north because of the climate, well that’s come to a stop,” he said.

“That’s a concern for businesses expecting a mini harvest.

“With the border lockdown, some of them are just recovering last major lockdown.

“Another time like this could be the end of a few.”

The lost was aggravated by an ageing population who were “extremely cautious” about the pandemic and had stopped going out, Mr Polglase said.

Still, he reasoned, it was better than the alternative.

“It would devastate if a couple of people identified with Covid in this area,” Mr Polglase said.

“It would be eating the sandwich on both sides of the border for all traders.”

On Thursday, Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce president Martin Hall questioned the timing of the move, despite acknowledging it was not unexpected.

““It was probably a foregone conclusion – it was inevitable really – but it will continue to wound us,” he said.

“It’s just been a rolling boxing match really.”